NEW YORK, NY April 17, 2007 —New York and New Jersey are among a dozen states where legislators are trying to force private insurers to provide more coverage for amputee prosthetics.

REPORTER: Paddy Rosbach from the Amputee Coalition of America says insurers generally provide an initial set of prosthetics. But as they wear out or the amputees’ bodies change, several insurers offer little or no coverage.

ROSBACH: If you have a child that is born with limb deficiencies and has to have an amputation, say, of both feet, and their insurer says they can only have one prosthesis for life, That’s the worst possible scenario.

REPORTER: The proposed bill in the New York Assembly and Senate would force insurers to cover prosthetics at least as thoroughly as the Federal Medicare system does for people over age 65.

Currently, six states have prosthetic parity laws including California, Colorado and Massachusetts. New York and New Jersey are among 11 more states considering such a measure. Opponents say adding mandates to insurers drives up the cost for everyone. Rosbach says that studies in states that later implemented the law suggest the cost ranges from 18 to 42 cents per insured person statewide.