BALTIMORE--The HME industry can expect CMS to roll out major components of new wheelchair policy early this week, a CMS spokesperson told HomeCare Monday.

According to industry sources, the agency had hoped to release its final National Coverage Determination for mobility equipment, a new wheelchair Certificate of Medical Necessity, a regulation requiring beneficiaries to have a face-to-face physician exam to receive the equipment, plus a new policy for scooters--all on Friday.

But the actions were delayed during the clearance process. "Hopefully, the delay will prove worth it," the spokesperson said. "Clearance could go another way, so this all could change, [but these issues are] an extremely high priority, not just at the CMS level but at the [Department of Health and Human Services] level."

The rollouts will be part of CMS' three-pronged mobility benefit overhaul, which includes coverage, payment and quality controls for suppliers. Earlier this year, the agency released a draft NCD that called for the elimination of language requiring wheelchair beneficiaries to be "bed- or chair-confined," replacing it with coverage criteria based on a person's functional mobility. The draft is posted on the CMS Web site, available by clicking here.