Your Prosthesis

Your physician and prosthetist will determine when it’s time for your prosthesis. They will decide when you get it and how your prosthesis will be built. The types of components and the level of technology used in your prosthesis will depend on your level of ability. This is relevant because your health insurance determines what services and benefits they will cover. Your physician, prosthetist and insurance company will be making decisions on your behalf based on your policy, unless you are paying cash.

Your abilities will depend on how you deal with the loss of your limb and your current physical capacity. Many people in the prosthetic field can tell you that a person’s abilities are determined more by how they adjust to the loss of their limb than how much of their leg was amputated. Your physician and prosthetist need to predict your activity level, and your potential before they can work on your definitive prosthesis. They must justify your potential to your health insurance provider before any work can be started.

Medicare created a system that has been adopted by most insurance companies to assess the “functional level” of an amputee. This system was designed to make sure that people get the prosthetic components that are most appropriate for their activity level. These are called “K Levels”. Your prosthetist, physician, and physical therapist should work together in determining your K Level.