Statement
on new, Medicare National Coverage criteria
of Power WheelChairs and other mobility equipment
from Medicare Rights Center calls decision harmful to seniors
Below is a statement from Robert M. Hayes, president of the
Medicare Rights Center, a national consumer group, regarding the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ announcement about the
new, national coverage criteria for mobility assistive equipment,
including power wheelchairs and scooters.
“The national coverage decision issued today on wheelchairs
and other mobility devices by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services maintains an antiquated and illegal policy that will keep
tens of thousands of Americans in cruel and unnecessary isolation.
“That isolation will lead to greater illness, dependence and
higher health care costs.
“Today’s national coverage decision maintains a long obsolete
Administration policy that pays 80 percent of the cost of a power
wheelchair for a person with Medicare who needs it to move from a
bedroom to a kitchen, but not for a person who requires the
wheelchair to leave home for medical care, shopping or even
employment. The policy imprisons people in their homes and is based
on an outdated reading of the Medicare law.
“It is now the 21st century: changes in
technology, medicine and law require coverage of equipment that
allows people with disabilities to have a productive life outside
the four walls of their homes.
“It is time for the White House to intervene. President
George H.W. Bush championed the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA). President George W. Bush has repeatedly said he too supports
allowing maximum independence for people with disabilities.
“It is now apparent that CMS will not support a realistic and
humane policy that will free thousands of people with disabilities
to a fuller life in their communities without direction from the
White House or the courts.
“Existing law, common sense, and common decency cry out to
change a policy that sentences people with disabilities to needless
isolation.”
The Medicare Rights
Center is the largest independent source of health care information
and assistance in the United States for people with Medicare.
Founded in 1989, MRC helps older adults and people with disabilities
get high-quality, affordable health care. For more information
about MRC, call 212-204-6219, or visit the MRC web site:
www.medicarerights.org.