Baltimore
CMS has set a Sept. 1 deadline for manufacturers to submit power chair and scooter test results that will be used to match products with billing codes and develop fees — all before 49 new mobility codes become effective next year.
“The sooner [testing] is done, the better,” Joel Kaiser of CMS' division of community and post-acute care said at a CMS Open Door Forum. “I encourage [manufacturers] to start right away.”
CMS released the new codes for power chairs and scooters in February as part of its overall initiative to revamp the Medicare mobility benefit. The agency is requiring products to be tested at 30-35 facilities certified worldwide by RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America) or at manufacturer test facilities that meet ANSI/RESNA standards.
Results will be submitted to the SADMERC (Statistical Analysis Durable Medical Equipment Regional Carrier), which will then determine the appropriate code and associated fee for each product.
All codes are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2006.
