Recognizes: (1) the lifesaving role of ostomy care and prosthetics in the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the United States, (2) the necessity of a specialized ostomy nurse to recommend and customize ostomy prostheses, and (3) that a patient undergoing a surgical procedure that results in the patient needing a prosthetic that manages or restores intestinal or urinary system function should have access to individually prescribed, customized prosthetics that will best meet the patient's needs.
Urges: (1) that ostomy products be recognized, categorized, covered, and adequately reimbursed by Medicare in a new payment category of "prosthetic supplies"; and (2) the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure that HHS programs, policies, and payment practices facilitate innovation of and access to medical devices that restore or improve intestinal or urinary system function of individuals with an ostomy.