Edwards: New Power Chair Codes Designed for Flexibility

LAS VEGAS–The chief architect behind 49 new power chair and
scooter codes Medicare plans to implement next year spoke to a
group of about 80 industry stakeholders Thursday morning at the Las
Vegas Renaissance Hotel.

At the session, sponsored by NCART (National Coalition for
Assistive and Rehab Technology), SADMERC Medical Director Dr. Doran
Edwards said the new codes should make it easier for health care
professionals to prescribe wheelchairs that will meet a patient’s
current and future needs.

“We anticipate [clinicians] should have a much greater selection
and [be able to] fit the chair more accurately to the patient,”
Edwards said, adding that clinicians can use the codes to
“anticipate the needs of that patient over the next two to three
years. If patients will require multiple power options,” then
clinicians will be able to prescribe a chair that can accept option
upgrades, which can be added to the power base as a patient’s
condition progresses.

All this hinges on the government’s new coverage policy for
mobility devices, which insiders say is set for imminent release
from CMS. A regulation requiring a face-to-face physician
examination and a new wheelchair CMN are also in the works.

More on the new codes may be accessed through the SADMERC Web
site, available by
clicking here.