NCART Event Spotlights Complex Rehab Carve-Out
WASHINGTON–The issue is not what will happen to complex rehab
if it remains in competitive bidding, according to Sharon
Hildebrandt, it’s what will happen to Medicare beneficiaries who
need complex rehab.
“That’s the issue,” said Hildebrandt, executive director of the
National Coalition of Assistive and Rehab Technology. The group
held a Capitol Hill press briefing on Tuesday to push Congress for
passage of H.R. 2231, the Medicare Access to Complex Rehabilitation
and Assistive Technology Act of 2007. The proposed legislation
would exempt those products from competitive bidding.
A dozen complex rehab users who joined NCART members,
congressmen and other advocates backing the carve-out bill told the
press that the Medicare bidding program would undercut the quality
of life for thousands of people with disabilities by creating a
“one size fits all” category for the equipment.
Consumer Selene Faer Dalton-Kumins, a 20-year disability
advocate with spinal muscular atrophy and the director of
Washington’s MetroAccess, spoke of her experience in one wheelchair
that didn’t fit properly. She lost the use of an arm, Hildebrandt
said.
The ALS Association and people living with amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) also urged passage of the bill at
the press event.
“People with ALS who have lost the ability to stand, walk, use
their arms and hands, and even breathe on their own, require the
use of wheelchairs that are far more complex than those typically
needed by most Medicare beneficiaries,” said Steve Gibson, vice
president of government relations for the association.
“Unfortunately this new program does not recognize the complexities
of ALS or take into account the significant cost of these chairs
and the services that are required to ensure they meet the specific
medical needs of people with ALS.”
Complex rehab and assistive technology products “are highly
individualized and must be assembled, adjusted, programmed,
modified and monitored to accommodate each beneficiary’s individual
needs,” said Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, who co-authored the carve-out
bill. “Competitive acquisition does not work well when unique
products, configurations or specific combinations of products are
needed to meet the clinical needs of an individual.”
With five of the bill’s 21 cosponsors in attendance and a number
of publications represented from throughout the country,
Hildebrandt called the press conference a success. “I think it
raised the visibility of the issue,” she said, adding that “we got
a great picture in Roll Call (a popular Capitol Hill
newspaper), so I know visibility is increasing.”
The next step, she said, is to get companion legislation
introduced in the Senate, and to keep awareness high should
Congress tackle Medicare legislation later this session.
“The issue is what’s going to happen to those beneficiaries,”
Hildebrandt continued. “They are not going to get the technology
that is most appropriate for their needs. For current Medicare
beneficiaries, if they need replacement chairs or systems, they are
not going to be able to continue to get what they have. Their
options are going to be greatly reduced, and the amount of service
they get is going to be greatly reduced.
“Suppliers are not going to be able to be as attentive as they
have been in the past because they won’t be able to afford to,” she
added, “so it’s the Medicare beneficiary who’s really going to
suffer.”
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