Page 33 - Mobility Management, March 2020

burns caused by scalding foods or beverages are a daily risk for people in wheelchairs.
Moreover, when CMS evaluates a wheelchair user’s needs, it only considers the home environment, ignoring the fact that disabled people must leave our homes to go to work, grocery shopping,
or at the very least, doctors’ appointments. For those with jobs, the challenges only increase. Although the Americans with Disabilities Act requires workplaces to provide reasonable accom- modations, the cost of lowering office equipment and furniture
to accommodate a person in a wheelchair is prohibitively expen- sive for most businesses — and unrealistic.
A Money-Saving Choice
However, the cost of adding adjustable seat height to a wheel- chair is only around $3,000 — a fraction of the cost associated with other options. For example, PASH can reduce the need for attendant services, which are typically covered by CMS and other insurers.
Even if using PASH reduces the need for attendant services by five hours per week, that adds up to about $3,000 in just one year (based on an average hourly wage of $11.26). Additionally, the disabled individual enjoys more independence. As much as we love our attendants, many people with disabilities would prefer to
do more for ourselves and rely on attendants less, when possible.
technology is developed, policymakers have an urgent responsibility to make it widely available. Yet as of today, CMS has not even scheduled a time to receive public comment on the issue of PASH coverage. Why? Because the majority of CMS’s decision makers are able-bodied people who do not fully understand how a feature they classify as an “accessory” can be vital to a wheelchair user.
Perhaps for their next meeting, decision-makers at CMS should sit in their chairs and pass a pot of boiling water around — over their heads. m
Editor’s note: Stephanie Woodward is a proud disabled person and director of advocacy for the Center for Disability Rights. Woodward earned her J.D. with a certificate in disability law and policy and her MSEd. in disability studies from Syracuse University College of Law. Follow her on Instagram at stepfunny426.
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