WASHINGTON--Legislation to exempt complex rehab and assistive technology from the national competitive bidding program was introduced in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Reps. Tom Allen, D-Maine, and Ron Lewis, R-Ky., introduced the measure, which "would ensure that Medicare beneficiaries would continue to have access to appropriate complex rehab and assistive technology products," according to the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology, which has long pushed for the exemption.

Without the legislation, according to the group, such customized products and services would be unavailable to beneficiaries because their costs exceed the fee schedule amount.

The Medicare Access to Complex Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Act of 2007" (H.R. 2231) defines complex rehab and assistive technology products as "medically necessary adaptive seating, positioning and mobility devices and speech-generating devices fitted, configured, adjusted or programmed to meet the specific and unique needs of an individual with a primary diagnosis resulting from injury or trauma or which is neuromuscular in nature," NCART said.

At a Washington fly-in last week, the organization's members made more than 130 visits to lawmakers to drum up support for the bill, said Sharon Hildebrandt, executive director of the coalition of providers and manufacturers.

"They seemed to understand," Hildebrandt said, adding that photographs and a half-dozen rehab patients who accompanied the group to the Hill seemed to make the issue clearer. "[The congressmen] were very receptive to our arguments."

"The bill makes sense and the cost is not high," said Gary Gilberti, vice president of NCART and president and CEO of Chesapeake Rehab Equipment in Baltimore. "Many folks we have talked to are already supportive."

Hildebrandt said the current fee schedule does not account for the services that go into complex rehab, adding that if fees are set any lower under competitive bidding, providers may not be able to deliver the range of products or the highly configurable products within the category.

"They're going to have to cut back on the amount of services they provide," Hildebrandt said, pointing out that, ultimately, beneficiaries would have reduced access to complex rehab products and services.

She also referred to an NCART study released last year that shows the profit margin for complex rehab providers is less than 2 percent (see HomeCare Monday Jan. 8).

Going forward, Hildebrandt said, NCART will focus on educating consumer groups about the implications of the legislation and on getting a companion bill introduced in the Senate.