“The tenor of the hearing was not anti-[HME] industry. It was more anti-CMS than anything else, [with testimony describing] how they allowed this [power wheelchair] fraud and abuse to happen. The other good news is that what CMS announced … was very much in line with industry recommendations. They're going to create more codes. It's nice to have such recognition from the government.”
— Cara Bachenheimer, vice president of government relations, Invacare Corp., Elyria, Ohio
“My overall reaction is disappointment, but not surprise. I think we as an industry have a real PR issue that we need to address quickly. For the most part, the good suppliers are being painted with the same brush as those who were fraudulent.
“I believe we need to work with CMS to help resolve the situation. We need to help them separate out the codes, which will then better allow them to identify where the utilization issues are.”
— Gary Gilberti, president, Chesapeake Rehab, Baltimore, Md., and vice president of the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology (NCART)
“Overall, we think it's a positive step coming from CMS. I think their plan to revisit the current policy and gather a group of clinicians together to develop a clinical standard and outline conditions [qualifying beneficiaries for a power chair] … is an important first step. The way the policy is written now, ‘bed- or chair-confined,’ is restrictive, [and] that needs to be revisited.
“[Regarding new code development], we think that's appropriate as well. We want to make sure they consider what the industry has submitted in the past, and [that] the industry is at the table as well. Our concern is we want to make sure the industry is involved, [along with] the clinicians outside CMS, HHS and other government agencies.”
— Kevin Quaglia, general manager of industry relations, Pride Mobility Products, Exeter, Pa.
“I think there's going to be three markets that come out of this. One will be high-end rehab [equipment] that will go through a prior-authorization [process] and not be competitively bid. Second, we will have lower reimbursement on ‘plain-Jane’ K0011 product. Third, the scooter market will come back alive.”
— Chris Yule, president and CEO, Travis Medical, Austin, Texas
“We're supportive of an advisory board, and we feel it's imperative someone from the power mobility community be included on that board because of the complexity and nuances of the power mobility benefit.”
— Eric Sokol, president, Power Mobility Coalition, Washington, D.C.
For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.
