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Medicare News
Power Wheelchair Industry, Advocates Winning Battle
over Payment Cuts by CMS
 November 10, 2006 – The power wheelchair industry,
and many advocate groups that joined them, seem to be headed for a
significant victory over the rule by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services that was to make a substantial cut in the payments for these
devices on November 15. Tara Raeber, advocacy communications specialist
at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Public Policy Office, said
the new policy reported yesterday for Group 3 devices is "a victory for
the disability community."
 CMS Will Lessen Proposed Reimbursement Rate
Reductions for Medicare Beneficiaries' Power Wheelchairs
CMS
officials on Thursday announced that the agency will reduce proposed
cuts to Medicare reimbursement rates for some power wheelchairs and
scooters, the
AP/Houston
Chronicle reports (AP/Houston Chronicle, 11/9).
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Power Wheelchair Industry Lines Up 44 House Members
Opposing Medicare Fee Cut
They say cuts up to
41 percent will restrict access for senior citizens
November 3, 2006 – The power wheelchair industry
has lined up a bi-partisan group of 44 House members have asked Health
and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt to delay Medicare
cuts to power wheelchairs, which the group says will make it difficult
for senior citizens and other beneficiaries to receive mobility
equipment. This battle will join the effort by the American Medical
Association to stop a five percent pay cut by Medicare on the
Congressional agenda after the election recess.
Read more...
Mobility Industry Predicts Dire Circumstances if
Medicare Proceeds with Pay Cuts for Power Wheelchairs
On Nov.15 Medicare
will reduce reimbursements for power wheelchairs by about an average of
35%
October 11, 2006 - The Scooter Store announced today that the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services' decision to cut reimbursements by up to 41
percent for most power wheelchairs "will be devastating" for senior citizens
and people living with physical impairments.
Read more...
Read more
on
Medicare
or
Medicare Drug Program |
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CMS in October announced that beginning Nov. 15, it
would reduce Medicare reimbursements for power wheelchairs by about 35%
to help offset a significant increase in program expenditures for the
devices in recent years.
Under the proposed policy, Medicare reimbursements
for standard power wheelchairs would have decreased from the current
rate of as much as $6,130 to about $3,800 (Kaiser
Daily Health Policy Report, 10/11).
Manufacturers, suppliers and advocacy groups
objected to the original proposal, which they said would force
wheelchair makers and suppliers out of business and hamper access for
disabled beneficiaries. CMS had said the reductions were necessary to
stop fraud and abuse and improve the accuracy of reimbursement rates for
power mobility equipment (Carey,
CQ HealthBeat,
11/9).
A 2004 CMS study found that Medicare expenditures
for the devices increased from $43 million to $1.2 billion in the eight
years prior to the study (AP/Houston Chronicle, 11/9). However, CMS
officials on Thursday said that they decided to revise the proposed
reductions based on newer data "that reflects the full and complete
manufacturer applications, test results and attestation."
New Rates
Under the new proposal, Medicare reimbursements for "Group 3" power
mobility devices for the severely disabled will be between $1,000 and
$1,700 higher than the rates listed in the original proposal.
Reimbursement rates for "Group 2" devices, which
include the most commonly provided standard geriatric mobility
wheelchairs, will increase to about $301 more than the rate proposed in
October, according to CQ HealthBeat (CQ HealthBeat, 11/9).
Sharon Hildebrandt, executive director of the
National Coalition
for Assistive and Rehab Technology, said suppliers still will
face significant reductions. For example, she said, Medicare currently
pays $7,137 for one type of wheelchair, but the amount will decrease to
$5,173 under the new policy.
"There will still be an access issue," Hildebrandt
said. CMS spokesperson Jeff Nelligan said the changes would reduce fraud
while ensuring beneficiaries have access to appropriate power mobility
devices (AP/Houston Chronicle, 11/9).
Tara Raeber, advocacy communications specialist at
the
National Multiple
Sclerosis Society's Public Policy Office, said the new policy
for Group 3 devices is "a victory for the disability community" (CQ
HealthBeat, 11/9).
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