Mobility Testing Requirements Concern Stakeholders

Columbia, S.C.

Manufacturers will have at least one year to retest devices in an independent testing facility, using the SADMERC’s new testing criteria.

This new requirement, included in the SADMERC’s 23-page “Power Mobility Device Coding Guidelines,” alarmed many in the industry.

“We are quite concerned about the new requirement … when we have already invested in extensive testing apparatus, and will need to continue to conduct internal testing for non-Medicare purposes. This will only add unnecessary costs to the system,” said Cara Bachenheimer, vice president, government relations for Elyria, Ohio-based Invacare Corp.

Simon Margolis, vice president of Franklin, Tenn.-based National Seating & Mobility, said the requirement is unrealistic, and the cost would be exorbitant for manufacturers.

“That’s a significant problem. There aren’t enough independent labs in the country to test [this equipment],” he said, adding that most major manufacturers already have their own testing facilities. “I don’t see the point of forcing manufacturers to go to a lab that would be less sophisticated than their own.”

Margolis suggested the possibility of certifying manufacturers’ labs, and said he hoped “we’ll be able to figure out ways to make an acceptable compromise for the industry.”