WASHINGTON – Medicare officials have agreed to lessen the proposed cuts in reimbursement rates for power wheelchairs and scooters, particularly for equipment used by the most severely disabled.
The new rates announced Thursday will take effect Nov. 15. The changes are part of an effort to combat fraud and ensure Medicare beneficiaries have access to the appropriate wheelchair or scooter, said Jeff Nelligan, a spokesman at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Many had complained that the original cuts went too far and would drive some suppliers out of business. CMS then made several refinements and, as a result, reimbursement rates for some wheelchairs will go up by hundreds of dollars.
Sharon Hildebrandt, executive director of a trade association representing makers of rehabilitation equipment, said suppliers will still face significant cuts. For example, she said Medicare had paid $7,137 for one particular type of wheelchair, but that amount will drop to $5,173 under the new fee schedule.
“There will still be an access issue,” she said.
The changes sought by federal officials come after a 2004 study showed that Medicare reimbursements for certain power wheelchairs were far higher than the prices paid by consumers and suppliers. Also, agency expenditures for the equipment jumped from $43 million to $1.2 billion in the eight years prior to the study.
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