Page 15 - Mobility Management, August 2017

products. CMS’ action ensures that individuals with signif- icant disabilities will continue to have access to special- ized technology that they depend on, which will also be welcome news for caregivers and medical professionals who support these individuals.”
Manual CRT Wheelchairs Not Part of Deal
The new policy affects accessories on Group 3 power chairs. Manual CRT wheelchairs — such as ultralight- weight, self-propelled and tilt-in-space models — were not included in the policy announcement, meaning they are subject to the previously planned funding cuts.
Don Clayback, executive director of NCART, told Mobility Management that the organization would continue to address the subject of accessories for manual CRT wheelchairs.
“As we move forward and work on things like the sepa- rate [Medicare benefit] category legislation and other issues, we’re going to look for an opportunity to remove the cuts for the CRT manual accessories and get back to the point where whether it was power or manual, you received the same payment based on the Medicare fee schedule,” Clayback said.
At the same time, he said he recognized the enormity of the policy change concerning Group 3 power chairs. “It’s a major win to get the power wheelchair accesso-
ries taken care of, and so we want to be very appreciative of our Congressional leadership and CMS,” Clayback said. “We really appreciate everyone stepping up, both
in Congress and at CMS, and making this policy change, which we’ve been working on for almost two years.”
Clayback added that industry organizations did try to get accessories on both power and manual CRT wheel- chairs exempted.
“The message is thanks for the policy change; that’s great. We were hoping to get manual [exempted as well], and we will move forward with further discussions on protecting CRT access, such as the separate category legislation.
“We’re not giving up. But this was a big win, and hope- fully, it’s an indication that things will be better.”
NCART Summer Membership Drive Underway
The welcome news of the policy change came as NCART continues its summer membership drive.
“Having greater support from the CRT providers and manufacturers is just going to enable us to do more work,” Clayback said. “With what we’re dealing with on
the Medicare front and on Medicaid, and the changes that are going on, I think it’s safe to say that the need for our CRT advocacy work is only going to increase as we move through the months and years ahead.”
NCART (ncart.us) dues are tiered according to company revenue to enable CRT providers and manu- facturers of all sizes to participate.
“We know money is tight and every owner has to look at their return on investment,” Clayback said. “But I think we can show the companies that have invested in us that we’ve been able to put those dollars to work to produce tangible results. Congress has weighed in with two pieces of legislation, and now they’ve weighed in with CMS to get this change. Every win that we’ve had has involved more awareness from Congress, more support from Congress. Those are all layers we should be able to build on as we take on other challenges.” m
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