NCART is on a Medicaid mission

EAST AMHERST, N.Y. – NCART has come right out of the gate in 2022 to work on Medicaid issues, including protecting reimbursement for complex rehab. 

The association, through its CRT Payer Relations Committee, is working on various issues in at least 10 different states, including California and Illinois, where legislation has been introduced to recognize and protect the specialized nature of complex rehab. 

“That issue is going to continue to be a part of our priority list,” said Don Clayback, executive director. 

Right now, eight states formally recognize complex rehab technology. 

Additionally, NCART has determined four other key initiatives to focus on this year. They are: 

1. Preventing Medicaid programs from cutting rates for complex rehab technology. “Or actually going on the offensive and requesting rate increases,” said Mickae Lee, associate director. 
2. Continuing to identify policies that are restricting access to complex rehab technology. “This could include problematic payers, like a United Healthcare or an Aetna,” she said. 
3. Collecting provider cost information to address the cost-plus reimbursement policies that are popping up in some states. “We need to explain the difference in complex rehab and why it’s more costly and labor intensive,” she said. 
4. Addressing service and repair challenges. 

That last initiative will get its own work group to determine barriers and develop improvements, Clayback says. 

“It’s an issue that has a lot of dimensions to it, and we’re going to try to put together a coordinated approach, partnering with payers and consumers,” he said. “We need the right policies in place, the right documentation requirements, the right payment amounts and certainly the right standards. If I need a simple repair, like a flat tire or a dead battery, it shouldn’t be that complicated.”