United Spinal’s ROCH provides momentum to wheelchair repair bill

WASHINGTON – The United Spinal Association says advocacy efforts during its annual Roll on Capitol Hill (ROCH) event have already helped secure new congressional support for legislation that would prohibit Medicare Advantage plans from requiring prior authorization for maintenance and repairs to wheelchairs and other complex rehab technology.

Following 172 meetings with congressional offices during the late-June event, Reps. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Jonathan Jackson, D-Ill., signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation, according to United Spinal.

“Through our dozens of follow-up emails since ROCH, we have been providing offices with further information on the issues we spoke about and there are more co-sponsorships in the pipeline,” said Matt Castelluccio, CEO of United Spinal.

Beyond wheelchair repair issues, advocates also discussed concerns about CMS's plans to include catheters in the next round of its competitive bidding program and urged lawmakers to support H.R. 1703 and S. 247, legislation aimed at improving access to titanium and carbon-fiber ultralightweight manual wheelchairs.

Nearly 200 advocates from 37 states participated this year, sharing personal experiences with lawmakers and their staff to highlight the impact of policy decisions on people who rely on complex rehab technology.

“We are putting a human touch to policy and that’s impactful,” Castelluccio said. “When you share a story, it really resonates with lawmakers.”

Although ROCH was held virtually this year, Castelluccio said the format helped broaden participation.

“We love to do it in-person, because it has an even greater impact, but virtual draws in more participants because it’s easier for people,” he said.

The event came about a month after complex rehab technology stakeholders gathered in Washington, D.C., for a CRT Product Expo where advocates also promoted the titanium and carbon-fiber wheelchair bills.

Wayne Grau, executive director of NCART, said ROCH helped reinforce those earlier conversations by bringing consumers directly into the advocacy process.

“We met with a couple of people that we had met previously and they said, ‘Hey, haven’t we talked about this already,’” Grau said. “And we told them, ‘Yes, but now you get to hear directly from consumers on why this is important.’ It’s great for them to hear from non-industry people, as well.”