Scooter Store Lays Off 200

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas–The Scooter Store announced last week that
it is laying off 200 employees, citing Medicare’s recent
reimbursement cuts for power mobility devices.

CMS’ new fee schedule, originally issued Oct. 2, was met with an
outcry from rehab industry stakeholders. CMS subsequently increased
payments for some power wheelchairs and has since made other
revisions to the schedule (see HomeCare Monday, Nov. 20). However,
The Scooter Store said that this isn’t enough.

“Unfortunately, the Nov. 15 implementation date arrived, and
despite some very slight adjustments, the fees were still
drastically reduced to unrealistic levels,” founder and CEO Doug
Harrison said in a statement issued Friday. “While CMS has verbally
committed to fixing these errors, the power mobility industry has
yet to see any movement. We remain optimistic that these changes
will provide some relief in the near future.”

According to the statement, under the new fee schedule CMS is
now paying 28 percent less for power wheelchairs and 38 percent
less for scooters.

“Medicare claims the cuts are in response to utilization
spiraling out of control,” Harrison said. “The reality is that
utilization of the Medicare mobility benefit has dropped almost 30
percent since 2003 and is 10 percent (12,000 units per year) below
Medicare’s own estimate of appropriate utilization. Additionally,
Medicare’s methodology for calculating the price cut still
incorporates numerous errors and does not reflect today’s market
price for power mobility devices.”

While the provider took other steps to reduce costs before
deciding to cut jobs, “we still found it necessary to reduce the
workforce so that The Scooter Store can continue operating,”
Harrison continued.

“It pains me that 200 men and women and their families are being
negatively impacted, largely because the government doesn’t have a
system to accurately determine what the proper Medicare pricing
should be for power wheelchairs and scooters,” Harrison said,
adding that the company’s employees, “as well as the Medicare
beneficiaries who will also be hurt by these cuts, deserve that
much from Washington.”