NCART Mulls Suggestions on Road to Separate Rehab Benefit

ATLANTA — In its continuing bid to carve out a separate
Medicare benefit for complex rehab, the National Coalition for
Assistive and Rehab Technology is weighing approaches suggested by
a Washington, D.C., consulting firm on how best to get that done,
the executive director said Friday.

“We have received our report from the Avalere Health Group that
lays out the legislative and regulatory road map with their
suggested approaches,” said Don Clayback, “and our steering
committee is now in discussions about their suggestions.”

Clayback said three groups from the 20-member steering
committee, comprised of experts from throughout the industry, are
studying the Avalere report from the vantage of coding, supplier
standards and coverage.

“The next step is to create the legislative specifications that
are going to be required to support the legislative side of the
separate benefit,” he said. “We expect to be working on that
through … July.”

The steering committee is also in continuing discussions with
consumer groups to keep them updated on the details of the program,
garner input and gain support, Clayback said.

“It’s a big project. We are certainly taking a deliberative
approach to make sure we are not moving too quickly,” he said,
adding that the group, while it has no definitive target date, does
want to get a bill introduced sometime this year.

NCART has already held two webinars
about the project, and Clayback said another one will be held in
about 60 days to keep stakeholders informed on progress.