What is CMS thinking? How can making wheelchairs more expensive and harder to obtain be good for anyone?
On Jan. 1, 2016 it will become much more difficult, and in many cases impossible, to get Medicare to pay for seating and positioning equipment including wheelchair cushions, wheelchair backs, controllers and other items deemed “accessories” that wheelchair users need. This is because of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Final Rule 1614-F, which is scheduled to take effect in January 2016. It will reduce how much they will pay for complex rehab technology (CRT). Anything beyond a standard (hospital or “drugstore style”) wheelchair is considered CRT.



