Medicare to rein in power wheelchair prescriptions, sales

The federal government will require greater oversight from physicians.

By Markian Hawryluk, AMNews staff. Oct. 6, 2003.

Washington -- Faced with more than 300% growth in motorized wheelchair sales over the past four years, Medicare officials announced a full-force attack on wheelchair fraud and abuse this fall.

In a joint announcement, the Dept. of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services revealed an arsenal of measures designed to combat inappropriate Medicare payments for wheelchairs.

"There shouldn't be any doubt here -- we are totally committed to providing motorized wheelchairs to the disabled and senior population," CMS Administrator Tom Scully said. "While many of these wheelchairs are provided by ethical suppliers and go to beneficiaries in need, we know that a great number of unscrupulous suppliers are promising free wheelchairs to beneficiaries who don't need them."

The agency will begin to scrutinize all new applications for wheelchair supplier numbers and is unlikely to approve any new suppliers until next year. Medicare contractors will be expected to pay additional attention to power wheelchair claims submitted for payment, and CMS will issue new regulations to clarify the conditions under which Medicare will cover mobility products.

And for the first time, physicians will be required to see patients before prescribing motorized wheelchairs or scooters.

"Hard as it is to believe, you can still today write a script for a wheelchair without seeing a patient," Scully said during the September conference call announcing the crackdown. "That seems pretty wild to me, that you can get a $5,500 piece of equipment without ever seeing" a doctor.