Watch: Why Insurance Companies Are Denying Coverage for Prosthetic Limbs

PBS News Weekend’s Ali Rogin spoke with KFF Health News contributor Michelle Andrews about what some people with missing limbs consider a disparity in health insurance coverage: Though a knee replacement likely would be covered, a prosthetic knee isn’t always. A prosthetic device can be subject to cost caps and an amputee may be required to prove medical necessity for coverage. Andrews recently explored these issues in her article “Health Insurers Limit Coverage of Prosthetic Limbs, Questioning Their Medical Necessity.”

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<h1>Watch: Why Insurance Companies Are Denying Coverage for Prosthetic Limbs</h1>
<div>	<span class="byline">Michelle Andrews</span>
		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2025-04-18T05:00:00-04:00">
			April 18, 2025		</time>
		</div>
<p><a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-insurance-companies-are-denying-coverage-for-prosthetic-limbs">PBS News Weekend</a>’s Ali Rogin spoke with KFF Health News contributor Michelle Andrews about what some people with missing limbs consider a disparity in health insurance coverage: Though a knee replacement likely would be covered, a prosthetic knee isn’t always. A prosthetic device can be subject to cost caps and an amputee may be required to prove medical necessity for coverage. Andrews recently explored these issues in her article “<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/prosthetic-limbs-private-insurance-coverage-denials-amputees/">Health Insurers Limit Coverage of Prosthetic Limbs, Questioning Their Medical Necessity</a>.”</p><ul><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/watch-why-insurance-companies-are-denying-coverage-for-prosthetic-limbs/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/watch-why-insurance-companies-are-denying-coverage-for-prosthetic-limbs/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/watch-why-insurance-companies-are-denying-coverage-for-prosthetic-limbs/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Watch%3A%20Why%20Insurance%20Companies%20Are%20Denying%20Coverage%20for%20Prosthetic%20Limbs&body=https%3A%2F%2Fkffhealthnews.org%2FMjAxNjIwNg&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/watch-why-insurance-companies-are-denying-coverage-for-prosthetic-limbs/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/watch-why-insurance-companies-are-denying-coverage-for-prosthetic-limbs/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p><p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/watch-why-insurance-companies-are-denying-coverage-for-prosthetic-limbs/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org">KFF Health News</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://kffhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/kffhealthnews-icon.png?w=150" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://kffhealthnews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=2016206&amp;ga4=G-J74WWTKFM0" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p>

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