Page 20 - Mobility Management, April 2017

policy updates
NCART/NRRTS Conference to Focus on CRT Accessories, Separate Benefit Category
This month’s NCART/NRRTS conference will bring different groups of complex rehab technology (CRT) stake- holders together to discuss a
number of critical topics, but among those getting the most attention will be achieving a permanent fix to a Medicare funding issue that’s been plaguing the industry for some time.
Don Clayback, NCART executive director, said in a Feb. 20 industry invitation that resolving the current funding problem surrounding CRT wheelchair accessories, as well as continuing to promote a Medicare separate benefit category for CRT, would be priorities during the April 26-27 conference.
“A major part of the conference is visiting members of Congress to push for passage of our CRT wheelchair accessories and our CRT separate benefit category legislation,” Clayback said in his bulletin to industry
members. “We built good momentum last year thanks to everyone’s efforts. But we need to build on that with this year’s visits. The delay in payment cuts to CRT wheel- chair accessories expires on June 30 and we need a permanent fix!”
NCART and NRRTS have condensed this year’s meeting to two days and lowered the registration fee to $199 to enable more industry members to attend. The confer- ence takes place in Arlington, Va., at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, which hosted the event last July.
Clayback said the first day of the conference, dubbed Leadership Day, would be composed of various educa- tional presentations “covering healthcare reform, federal and state regulatory/legislative issues, and getting prepped for Congress.” There will be an industry update and an evening reception.
The second day, Capitol Hill Day, consists of visits with members of Congress and their staffs to advocate for CRT policies. Attendees will have the opportunity to explain their concerns directly to their local representa- tives and Senators. Capitol Hill Day concludes with an evening Debriefing Reception so participants can share notes on the day’s happenings.
For more information, visit ncart.us. l
policy briefs...
At press time, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said it planned to go ahead with its prior authorization process rollout for power wheel- chair codes K0856 and K0861, according to bulletins from both NCART and the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare). Power chairs with those codes that are furnished on or after March 20 would be affected in the states of Illinois, Missouri, New York and West Virginia. CMS has previously stated
it would follow that up with a national rollout of the prior authorization process in July. The agency was scheduled to have an Open Door Forum conference
call to provide more details about the new policy in January, then in February, but canceled both calls, leading to speculation that the rollout date might be postponed. But CMS confirmed in early March that
it intended to go forward as planned. By definition, the affected products are Group 3 Standard Power Wheelchair with Single Power Option (K0856), and Group 3 Standard Power Wheelchair with Multi Power Option (K0861)... Alexis Ward, director of Medicaid affairs for Numotion, was honored with the compa- ny’s Trickett Wendler award at Numotion’s National Leadership Conference in January... AAHomecare
20 april 2017 | mobilitymanagement
mobilitymgmt.com