Page 16 - The Mobility Project, April 2020

wheelchair policy By Stephanie Woodward
Not Seeing Eye to Eye with
Medicaid & Medicare Services
Current policy blocks access to a life- changing feature
on complex power wheelchairs. That needs to change
Imagine going to a networking event or party, and, instead of looking into people’s eyes, saying
hello to everyone’s waist. Imagine lifting a pot of boiling spaghetti from the stove over your head and praying none of the scalding water burns you. For many years, that was the reality of my life.
I have spina bifida, a congenital disability that affects my ability to walk. When I was around 12, I got a power wheelchair, and for the first time I could keep up with my friends — and gained a new level of confidence that comes with independence.
Just One Part of the Solution
But my power wheelchair wasn’t a perfect solution. When I was in law school, I watched my classmates present from behind a podium that hid their notes. When it was my turn to present, the podium towered above my eye level, forcing me to work twice as hard to memorize my arguments or risk looking unprofes- sional by keeping notes in my lap.
Then, four years ago, I learned about a new feature available on power wheelchairs. Called power adjustable seat height (PASH), it allows users to raise the seat of their wheelchair to any height up to 12", drastically altering their
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ability to move through the world. The moment I got PASH, my life was instantly transformed.
I could finally look people in the eye when I met them, see what lay ahead as I moved down a busy sidewalk, reach any item I wanted in the grocery store, and utilize all the shelves of my refrigerator and closets.
I’m lucky the work I do allows
me access to this technology. Unfortunately, many of the approx- imately 5.5 million Americans who use a wheelchair don’t have access to the freedom and mobility PASH can unlock. Currently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) classifies adjustable seat height as an optional feature that isn’t covered because it’s not
An accessory is a purse or scarf, not a piece of technology that allows me to live my life to the fullest
Stephanie Woodward
deemed reasonable and necessary. As the single largest payor in this country, CMS sets the precedent for private insurers — many of whom also classify PASH as an accessory and refuse coverage.
Not an Optional “Accessory”
I beg to differ. An accessory is a purse or scarf, not a piece of technology that allows me to live my life to the fullest. CMS and other insurers also deny coverage of other vital equip- ment — such as medical bags that hold incontinence supplies, hydration systems such as a water bottle with switch-activated extended straw to allow quadriplegics to access water without assistance, and fender lights for safety and navigation — but
the denial of PASH is particularly egregious.
Without adjustable seat height, even cooking a simple spaghetti dinner would be nearly impossible, not to mention dangerous. Lap burns caused by scalding foods or bever- ages are a daily risk for people in wheelchairs.
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