Power standing: Lawmakers rattle cages at CMS 

WASHINGTON – Efforts to get CMS to move forward with a request to reconsider the national coverage determination for power standing systems has reached a fever pitch, most recently in early October with a Dear Colleague letter spearheaded by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Debbie Dingell, D-Mich. 

The letter, which has a deadline of Oct. 4 for co-signers, follows a previous letter sent to CMS by Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., in August. 

“It shows you how many (members of Congress) want to take on this fight to ensure individuals who need power standing get it,” said Wayne Grau, executive director of NCART. 

As of Friday, Sept. 27, the Dear Colleague letter had 15 co-signers, according to the ITEM Coalition, which has taken the lead on securing the letter and which submitted the original request to reconsider the NCD for both power seat elevation and standing systems four years ago. 

The letter was in play just in time for a congressional fly-in on Sept. 24 organized by NCART and U.S. Rehab. 

“It came up in a couple of meetings where we were able to ask the member of the House to sign on,” said Alexis Ward, senior director of payer relations for AAHomecare, which held its own fly-in on Sept. 10 and which attended the fly-in on Sept. 24. “But extending the deadline by an additional week, even though they’re now in recess, allows them more time to digest it.” 

All along, industry stakeholders, again led by the ITEM Coalition, have been busy collecting data and testimonials to support covering power standing systems, so that when CMS does open the public comment period for reconsidering the NCD, they are ready. 

“There is a consumer advocate named Jim Meade who is so passionate about this being a game changer for him,” Grau said. “It’s not just something that’s used to reach things on a counter. It also has medical benefits that we want to make sure CMS understands.” 

• Take action: 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.   
• Background: While the ITEM Coalition submitted a request to reconsider the NCD for both power seat elevation and standing systems, CMS chose to split the request and issued a coverage determination for only seat elevation in May 2023.