Senators intro titanium wheelchair bill

WASHINGTON – Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., have introduced legislation that would improve access to titanium and carbon fiber manual wheelchairs for Medicare beneficiaries. 

S. 5154, which would create two new HCPCS codes for complex rehab technology manual wheelchairs and would allow for upgrades, is a companion bill to H.R. 5371. 

“The Senate bill drops at an opportune time for mobility stakeholders and disability advocates to ask their legislators to co-sponsor and move the bill forward, coming on the heels of AAHomecare’s Sept. 10 CRT-focused Capitol Hill fly-in and NCART and (U.S. Rehab’s) fly-in Sept. 24,” the association stated in a bulletin. 

Currently, if a consumer wants a titanium or carbon fiber manual wheelchair, they must pay for the full cost out of pocket, have their provider file a non-assigned claim on their behalf, and, if approved, wait to receive 80% of the Medicare allowable. 

AAHomecare, NCART and U.S. Rehab are asking stakeholders to reach out to their senators to ask them to co-sponsor and support S. 5154, as well as reach out to their representatives in the House to co-sponsor H.R. 5371. 

“U.S. Rehab has been actively engaged in Washington, D.C., over the past few weeks, collaborating closely with NCART and AAHomecare,” said Tyler Mahncke, president of U.S. Rehab. “Our efforts have focused on educating policymakers about the health benefits and consumer choice associated with upgrading to carbon or titanium base manual chairs. As a budget-neutral measure that offers significant benefits to consumers, this initiative represents a positive step forward.”   

• Find additional guidance on messaging and reaching out to Capitol Hill at https://aahomecare.org/CRT-Advocacy and https://www.vgm.com/services/government-relations/action-center/.