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Preserve Beneficiary Purchase Option for Power Wheelchairs Pride is continuing to have very high level meetings with those on the Senate Finance Committee who is currently developing their Medicare bill. The timing for release of the Senate package is still unknown, but could be released as early as next week. The Medicare provision, Section 608, to eliminate the first month purchase option for power wheelchairs is in the House Medicare legislation and will be used to negotiate with the Senate Finance Committee once its Medicare package has been developed. While we have received some positive intelligence from the Senate that indicates the size of their package will be much smaller than the House package, no final decisions have been made and the power wheelchair provision is still on the table in the Senate for potential inclusion. We urge all of our providers to contact their Senators this week to ask them to write or call Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Republican Charles Grassley (R-IA) voicing their opposition to the Section 608 provision. Below are some documents that can assist you in your efforts: Government Affairs Update on the Elimination of the First Month Purchase (PDF) Position Paper on the 1st Month Purchase Option (PDF) Detailed Comparison of Power Wheelchair Allowables for Medicare Purchase vs Capped Rental (PDF) Sample Letter to Elected Official (MS Word Format) List of Consumer/Physician/Clinician Support for Removal of Section 608 (PDF) Letters of Support: |
