WASHINGTON--The issue is not what will happen to complex rehab if it remains in competitive bidding, according to Sharon Hildebrandt, it's what will happen to Medicare beneficiaries who need complex rehab.

"That's the issue," said Hildebrandt, executive director of the National Coalition of Assistive and Rehab Technology. The group held a Capitol Hill press briefing on Tuesday to push Congress for passage of H.R. 2231, the Medicare Access to Complex Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Act of 2007. The proposed legislation would exempt those products from competitive bidding.

A dozen complex rehab users who joined NCART members, congressmen and other advocates backing the carve-out bill told the press that the Medicare bidding program would undercut the quality of life for thousands of people with disabilities by creating a "one size fits all" category for the equipment.

Consumer Selene Faer Dalton-Kumins, a 20-year disability advocate with spinal muscular atrophy and the director of Washington's MetroAccess, spoke of her experience in one wheelchair that didn't fit properly. She lost the use of an arm, Hildebrandt said.

The ALS Association and people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) also urged passage of the bill at the press event.

"People with ALS who have lost the ability to stand, walk, use their arms and hands, and even breathe on their own, require the use of wheelchairs that are far more complex than those typically needed by most Medicare beneficiaries," said Steve Gibson, vice president of government relations for the association. "Unfortunately this new program does not recognize the complexities of ALS or take into account the significant cost of these chairs and the services that are required to ensure they meet the specific medical needs of people with ALS."

Complex rehab and assistive technology products "are highly individualized and must be assembled, adjusted, programmed, modified and monitored to accommodate each beneficiary's individual needs," said Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, who co-authored the carve-out bill. "Competitive acquisition does not work well when unique products, configurations or specific combinations of products are needed to meet the clinical needs of an individual."

With five of the bill's 21 cosponsors in attendance and a number of publications represented from throughout the country, Hildebrandt called the press conference a success. "I think it raised the visibility of the issue," she said, adding that "we got a great picture in Roll Call (a popular Capitol Hill newspaper), so I know visibility is increasing."

The next step, she said, is to get companion legislation introduced in the Senate, and to keep awareness high should Congress tackle Medicare legislation later this session.

"The issue is what's going to happen to those beneficiaries," Hildebrandt continued. "They are not going to get the technology that is most appropriate for their needs. For current Medicare beneficiaries, if they need replacement chairs or systems, they are not going to be able to continue to get what they have. Their options are going to be greatly reduced, and the amount of service they get is going to be greatly reduced.

"Suppliers are not going to be able to be as attentive as they have been in the past because they won't be able to afford to," she added, "so it's the Medicare beneficiary who's really going to suffer."

View an NCART position paper on H.R. 2231.

View a letter from The ALS Association endorsing H.R. 2231.