Tag: Manual Wheelchairs

WASHINGTON – A letter signed by 19 members of Congress was sent to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure late on Monday asking her to stop the Medicare payment cuts to accessories for complex rehab manual wheelchairs that are set to go into effect July 1.  The letter, circulated by Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., was signed by 18 members of the House of Representatives and Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.  “CMS has been reviewing the issues and our communication with them has been...

WASHINGTON – Stakeholders seek signatures for a fast-moving sign-on letter in the House of Representatives to protect access to accessories for complex rehab manual wheelchairs.  The letter, which asks CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to extend an 18-month pause on competitive bidding pricing for these accessories, closes June 21.  “Please email the individual who handles health care issues with your representative’s office,” AAHomecare stated...

WASHINGTON – NCART has updated www.protectmymobility.org to allow advocates to send a pre-written email to their members of Congress asking them to permanently exempt accessories for complex rehab manual wheelchairs from competitive bidding pricing. “As we have been sharing, June 30 marks the end of the 18-month suspension preventing Medicare from inappropriately applying competitive bid program rates to CRT manual wheelchair accessories,” NCART stated in a bulletin. “The...

STOCKHOLM – Permobil plans to buy Progeo, an Italian manufacturer of manual wheelchairs, to improve its portfolio in Europe.  “Progeo’s products will be available to users in more countries,” said Bengt Thorsson, CEO of Permobil. “At the same time, this deal increases the possibility to offer Permobil’s product range in Italy. This is an important step in our overall strategy of developing the next generation of advanced assistive technology and...

RICHMOND HILL, Ontario – Cheelcare, a designer and manufacturer of mobility devices based here, has named Allex Laurin director of marketing. Laurin’s addition to the Cheelcare team marks a milestone in company’s growth, it says – he will develop, lead and execute the startup’s market strategy and help to position the brand as a leader in mobility and assistive devices. “We are delighted to have Allex join our team,” said Eugene Cherny, co-founder...

WASHINGTON - Forty one members of the House of Representatives have signed a congressional letter urging CMS to permanently stop applying competitive bidding pricing to accessories for complex rehab manual wheelchairs. Reps. John Larson, D-Conn., and Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., began circulating the letter in August. “Our sincere thanks goes to Reps. Larson and Zeldin for their continued leadership in protecting access to CRT for people with disabilities and to their 39 colleagues,” wrote Don...

WASHINGTON - Reps. John Larson, D-Conn., and Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., have extended the deadline for their sign-on letter asking CMS to permanently exempt accessories for complex rehab manual wheelchairs from competitive bidding pricing to Sept. 18. “They understand it's been challenging to contact offices during the August recess and want to give us more time to continue our outreach to other representatives,” NCART stated in a bulletin. The deadline was previously Aug. 31. For the current...

WASHINGTON - Performant, Medicare's RAC, has notified providers by letter that, per authorization from CMS, it will resume certain medical review activities, according to the van Halem Group.The notification says providers have an additional 30 days to submit discussion requests for review for result and initial findings letters dated Feb. 27, 2020, to March 27, 2020. It also advises providers to access the Provider Portal to review any claims pertaining to those dates.Performant most recently posted...

NEW YORK - The United Spinal Association and the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology at the University of Pittsburgh have co-developed a new app that informs and encourages consumers and their families to play an active role in buying, using and maintaining their manual wheelchairs. “As a national nonprofit serving people with spinal cord injuries and disorders, we know how important having a properly fitted manual wheelchair is in pursuing a healthy, active and independent...

WASHINGTON - The Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) has received approval to audit hospital beds and manual wheelchairs, according to a bulletin from AAHomecare. The issue names are “Hospital Beds: Medical Necessity and Documentation Requirements” and “Manual Wheelchairs: Medical Necessity and Documentation Requirements.”  These are both complex reviews and the RAC will be determining whether the items were reasonable and necessary based on the medical record. The RAC...