Page 14 - Mobility Management, August 2017

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CMS: No Bidding-Derived Pricing for CRT Power Chair Accessories
Medicare allowables for accessories used on complex rehab technology (CRT) power wheelchair won’t be based on pricing derived from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) competitive bidding program, the agency has announced.
In a June 23 bulletin, CMS said it “is issuing a new policy on how adjustments to the fee schedule based on information from competitive bidding programs apply
to wheelchair accessories and back and seat cushions used with Group 3 complex rehabilitative power wheel- chairs.” Those adjustments will no longer happen, so starting July 1, “payment for these items will be based on the standard unadjusted fee schedule amounts.”
Cures Act Delay Was About to Expire
The problem of basing wheelchair accessory allow- ables on figures derived from Medicare’s controversial
competitive bidding program for durable medical equip- ment has been vigorously contested by the CRT industry for almost two years.
The 2008 Medicare Improvements for Patients & Providers Act (MIPPA) exempted CRT from Medicare’s competitive bidding program. But in mid 2015, CMS announced it would use pricing taken from competitive bidding data to create new allowables for accessories used on CRT power and manual wheelchairs.
As a June 23 announcement from the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) pointed
out, Congress passed two bills to delay the start of the funding cuts. The second delay, part of December’s 21st Century Cures Act, was due to expire June 30.
In the AAHomecare announcement, CEO/President Tom Ryan said, “Today’s announcement marks a big win for home medical equipment providers who furnish CRT
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