CRT Exemption Expected as Part of Lame Duck Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 12, 2018)—Language exempting complex rehab manual wheelchairs from the competitive bidding program and mandating an 18-month delay for the application of bidding-derived pricing for complex rehab wheelchair accessories has been included in HR 7217, the ‘‘Improving Medicaid Programs and Opportunities for Eligible Beneficiaries Act’’ or the IMPROVE Act. 

The bill passed late afternoon Dec. 11 by a margin of 400-11. The bill is expected to head to the Senate for consideration under the “hotline” process. If a hold is not placed on the bill within 24 hours, the bill will pass. If a hold is placed, proponents of the bill will work to remove the hold. One all holds are removed, the bill passes. The last time the hotline process was used on an HME-related bill was in Dec. 2015 to pass legislation delaying bidding-derived pricing for group 3 power CRT accessories.

Complete HR 7217 text can be found here. 

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