Mobility

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama Medicaid program will cover E2298, power seat elevation system, for adults 21 and older starting Jan. 1, 2025, according to NCART.  “NCART remains in hot pursuit of coverage for power seat elevation in several other states and greatly appreciates the support of our provider and manufacturer members as we seek to get this enabling technology covered in all 50 states,” the group stated in an email bulletin.  NCART says it was assisted...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – JTEK Solutions Group has a new name, JTEK Home Access Design, and a second location here, its first franchise, marking a significant step in the company’s evolution.  “JTEK Solutions Group served us pretty well in the beginning, but we wanted a name that was a little more narrow in scope and said what it is we do,” said Jared Chevraux, executive vice president.  Founded in 2011 in a home office and two-car garage, JTEK offers home access installations...

DALLAS – Medtrade in February will feature a new hub for complex rehab technology called CRT Live, giving exhibitors and attendees a dedicated area on the show floor to check out products and get educated.   “We’re working on getting the complex rehab side (of the show) back up in full force,” said Alexis Ward, senior director of payer relations for AAHomecare and a member of the Educational Advisory Board for Medtrade. “We want to build it back up for everyone,...

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Reliable Medical’s Katie Stevens made employee recruitment, retention and culture a big focus as CEO, but now she can double down as the company’s new chief people officer.  Reliable Medical named Charles Sargeant CEO over the summer, replacing Stevens and allowing her to transition into this new role.  “My superpower is really in the people sphere, and I determined that that would be the best way to continue serving the organization,”...

WASHINGTON – Two congressional fly-ins in September, which resulted in more than 100 meetings with lawmakers and their staff, served as a call for action to improve access to titanium and carbon fiber ultralightweight manual wheelchairs.  AAHomecare hit the Hill on Sept. 10, followed by NCART and U.S. Rehab on Sept. 24, to ask lawmakers to consider passing “Choices for Increased Mobility Act” or including it in end-of-year legislation.  “I was pleased we were...

WASHINGTON – Efforts to get CMS to move forward with a request to reconsider the national coverage determination for power standing systems have 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.,...

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Reliable Medical has grown significantly in the past three years and now it has a new CEO that can help the company “catch up.”  Charles Sargeant, who was previously Reliable Medical’s COO and who has more than 20 years of experience at National Seating & Mobility and Apria Healthcare, was named CEO this summer, replacing Katie Stevens, who is now the company’s chief people officer.  “The company has grown rapidly and evolved quickly,...

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...

ARLINGTON, Va. – RESNA is taking advantage of RehabWeek’s return to North America to co-locate its own conference at the event.  RehabWeek will take place May 12-16 in Chicago, drawing about 2,000 attendees. The RESNA conference will take place May 13-15.  “It’s an international conference that moves around the world,” said Andrea Van Hook, executive director of RESNA. “In 2023, it was in Singapore. RESNA participated in a similar way in 2019, when...

TUCKER, Ga. – In a move to better serve Georgia’s coastal communities, Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC) has opened a second facility in Savannah with the help of congressionally directed funding and in partnership with a regional Goodwill.  A $478,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services made it possible to renovate the facility in Savannah facility, add three trucks for equipment collection, put up new signage and place seven 40-foot...