New
Medicare policy will make seniors and disabled Americans 'Prisoners
In Their Homes'…Advocates for seniors and disabled Americans call on
CMS to revise the rules
WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Clinicians and advocates for
people with disabilities today sharply criticized new Medicare
procedures that will force beneficiaries living with mobility
impairments, many of whom are senior citizens, to receive power
wheelchairs and scooters unable to meet their medical needs.
Advocates called on the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to delay the scheduled Oct.
1 implementation, charging that individuals with mobility
impairments, including senior citizens and people living with
disabilities, will become "prisoners in their homes" because of the
new policy that operationalizes the coverage, coding and pricing
changes that CMS has recently made to the Medicare power mobility
benefit. They want the policy revised.
"Medicare is seeking to
save money on the mobility benefit at the expense of senior
citizens and people of all ages with disabilities," said
Barbara Crane, PhD, PT, ATP, and co- coordinator of the
Clinician Task Force. "Clinically, it is standard
professional practice to address all mobility needs for
typical daily activities; we aim for individuals to be as
mobile as possible. This policy conflicts with accepted
medical practice, and will confine people to their homes and
in some cases to a single room in their homes."
Under the procedures scheduled for
implementation on Oct. 1, Medicare coverage for power wheelchairs
and scooters will be restricted to inexpensive, low-powered models
leaving people with degenerative diseases such as multiple
sclerosis, Parkinson's disease or post polio syndrome in the
position of no longer qualifying for an appropriate level power
chair that also plans for their future medical needs. This
shortsighted approach will unnecessarily cost the taxpayers more in
the future when patients have additional medical and mobility needs.
Currently, Medicare pays
for power mobility equipment only if it is required to help
a beneficiary perform essential daily activities inside
their home, such as eating, dressing or using the bathroom.
However, the coverage policy previously allowed
beneficiaries to receive a power wheelchair also capable of
outdoor use, so many individuals were active in their
communities and could go to the store, shopping or to the
bank.
"After Oct. 1, many beneficiaries
will receive wheelchairs that don't meet their needs," said Henry
Claypool, an advocate from the Independence Care System. "It makes
no sense that Medicare should pay for a wheelchair that won't
maneuver over the threshold of a sliding glass door. At a minimum,
Medicare must facilitate people leaving their homes in emergency
situations instead of making them prisoners in their homes."
Andrew Imparato, president and CEO
of the American Association of People with Disabilities, agreed,
saying, "It is outrageous that Medicare will seek to cut costs by
victimizing people who most need their assistance. These changes
will impact the thousands of people who will need power wheelchairs
and scooters now and in the coming weeks, months and years. As Baby
Boomers grow older, there will be an increased need to meet their
mobility needs, but Medicare won't be there for them."
Technically, the new standard will
require that a Medicare beneficiary be unable to stand and pivot to
get into the seat of a power wheelchair or scooter to be eligible
for the best of the inexpensive, low-powered models that CMS will
cover after Oct. 1.
"It is unfortunate that new CMS
guidelines are not intended to meet the functional needs of Medicare
beneficiaries," said Laura Cohen, PhD, PT, ATP, a co-coordinator of
the Clinician Task Force. "They are based on cost-cutting standards
that require individuals to be completely non-ambulatory to receive
an appropriate mobility device. These rules will undoubtedly force
many beneficiaries into inappropriate and low-functioning mobility
devices. And that is not in the best medical interest of these
individuals or fiscally responsible to taxpayers."