Letter for standing systems extended 

WASHINGTON – The deadline to collect so-signers for a Dear Colleague letter that asks CMS to move forward with a pending national coverage analysis for power standing systems has been extended to Friday, Oct. 4. The letter, spearheaded by Reps Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., had an original deadline of Sept. 30. “The absence of Medicare coverage for these systems leaves many beneficiaries without access to critical technology that can significantly improve their health outcomes and quality of life,” stated the ITEM Coalition in a grassroots message. “Four years is far too long for Medicare beneficiaries to be forced to wait for CMS to initiate this important coverage analysis.” Sept. 15 marked the four-year anniversary of the ITEM Coalition’s request to reconsider the national coverage determination for seat elevation and standing systems in power wheelchairs. CMS chose to split the request in two and issued a coverage determination for only seat elevation in May 2023. As of Friday, Sept. 27, the letter had 15 co-signers:  

Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla.; Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.; Donald Davis, D-N.C.; Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.; Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif. ; Debbie Dingell, D-Mich.; Dwight Evans, D-Pa. ; Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.; Maxwell Frost, D-Fla. ; Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz.; Daniel Meuser, R-Pa.; Eleanor Norton, D-D.C.; Mark Pocan, D-Wis. ; Eric Swalwell, D-Calif. ; Dina Titus, D-Nev. 

The ITEM Coalition has drafted an email that stakeholders can send to their representatives here: https://powerslaw.quorum.us/campaign/69660/. The organization says the 438 advocates have weighed in with their representatives using this link.