Congressmen urge Sec. Becerra to move on seat elevation
By HME News Staff
Updated 9:33 AM CDT, Thu July 29, 2021
WASHINGTON – Reps. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Don Young, R-Alaska, have asked Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to encourage CMS to move forward with a pending request to include power seat elevation and power standing systems in the national coverage determination for mobility assistive equipment.
“These systems improve the health and independent function of mobility-impaired individuals and allow them to more fully participate in mobility-related activities of daily living,” the congressmen state in a letter. “For many individuals, they offer numerous medical benefits, including improved transfers and reaching, improved joint mobility and muscle tone, enhanced cardiovascular and respiratory functions, and reductions in falls, neck and spine injuries, skin breakdowns and muscle contractures.
The ITEM Coalition in September 2020 submitted a request to CMS asking the agency to reconsider the NCD for mobility assistive equipment to include power seat elevation and power standing systems for Group 3 power wheelchairs.
In 2005, the DME MACs said that the systems were not “primarily medical in nature” and, therefore, should not be included in the benefit.
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