Scramble on First-Month Purchase Option

While the industry-devised “clawback” proposal is a no-go, rehab advocates are still working on an alternative plan to preserve the first-month purchase option for Groups 1 and 2 power wheelchairs. Elimination of that option is currently included in congressional health reform plans.

According to Seth Johnson, vice president of government relations for Exeter, Pa.-based Pride Mobility Products and a member of AAHomecare’s Complex Rehab Mobility Council, the indsutry continues to work with Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., to offer an alternative that would keep the purchase option intact. But AAHomecare reported last week that the Senate’s fast track on health reform legislation leaves little time to craft such a plan.

In a state leaders/CRMC call last week, an across-the-board rate cut or CPI freeze for Group 1 and Group 2 chairs was discussed. The association was informed that such a cut could not be phased in over a 10-year period, however, but instead would require a three- to five-year phase-in period. AAH said the CRMC will request that the cut apply to Group 1 and 2 base chairs only and not to options and accessories. The group agreed that if more than 3.5 percent cuts are required to reach budget-neutrality, then the CRMC will reconvene for further discussion. (For more on the clawback proposal, see One Step Forward on Rehab Benefit, One Step Back on First-Month Purchase Option, Dec. 11.)