Transformations currently taking place in the world of power mobility devices (PMDs) center not so much around technology but around issues of access. Consequently, it is becoming, in the words of National Rehabilitation Hospital Regional Director Ginger Walls, MS, PT, NCS, ATP, "more and more challenging to match clients with the exact right PMD."

A big contributor to the problem has been CMS' decision to narrow its interpretation of in-home restrictions governing PMD choices, contends Atlanta-based Laura J. Cohen, PhD, PT, ATP, principal of Rehabilitation and Technology Consultants LLC. "[The in-home restriction rules] dictate clinical practice," she says. "They tell me that I, as a therapist, must consider only the equipment a person requires in the home, whereas standard practice requires that I consider all of a person's needs in the context of all environments they encounter—not just the home—so they can return to their highest level of independence and functioning. My options for making recommendations as to what is most appropriate for my patient are now limited."

Cohen (who also is co-coordinator of the Clinician Task Force and a member of the American Physical Therapy Association's Seating and Mobility member consultant group) laments that Medicare's moves are too often embraced by third-party private payors across the board. "Medicare sets the agenda—they do x and the majority of payors quickly follow suit," she says. "State Medicaid programs clearly have a responsibility to pay for products that can be used outside of the home, but now we see them and other private third-party payors widely adopting Medicare's only-in-the-home policy."

EXPANSION OF KNOWLEDGE

Although PMD base units, seating systems, and accessories are available in plentiful supply, the same cannot be said of the physical and occupational therapists who know these products forward, backward and sideways, says Walls from her office in the District of Columbia.

"We're getting around this limitation by investing heavily in the training of our staff with regard to PMDs," she reveals. "One way we are doing this is by working closely with a number of manufacturers who come to our facility and provide PMD education. The key is understanding both the device and the regulations that qualify the patient for that particular device. If the manufacturer doesn't do a good job of providing education about their devices, then it can be harder to figure out what's going to work best."

Having the patient try the actual equipment is a key part of the assessment process.

Even with training and experience, having the patient try the actual equipment is a key part of the assessment process. Accordingly, the equipment most often chosen is that which patients have "tried out beforehand, versus something sight unseen," says Walls. "Most of the manufacturers and suppliers we work with are willing to provide evaluation models for us to use in our seating clinic. I can call these companies and describe the needs my client has. I can then lay out my thinking about what I believe will work, at which point I can also ask for a demonstration unit to test out my ideas. Generally, the response I receive is yes. Sometimes, the company is willing as well to assist with the in-home evaluation. In the end, we might not obtain the perfect size of demonstrator or have everything exactly as it would be on the definitive chair, but usually we can get pretty close. It's an extremely helpful exercise."

CHANGED RELATIONSHIPS

The good relationships many rehab practitioners enjoy with their technology suppliers may be affected by competitive bidding, the long-awaited Medicare cost-cutting program aimed at HME providers. Competitive bidding is intended to lock in low, low prices for PMDs and other items such as hospital beds, respiratory products, and diabetic supplies, but it may also purge from Medicare's midst a large percentage of small vendors. Kathy San Martino, PT, NCS, ATP, a clinical coordinator at outpatient services at Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation in Pomona, Calif, fears that the genuine fly-by-nighters Medicare wants gone will be the ones to survive, while the good companies with which she regularly deals will be battered and driven out of business. "I'd hate to see it end up that the vendors we're forced to do business with are those we would not ordinarily choose to form relationships with," she says.

As CMS rolls out round two of competitive bidding, memories of problems with the electronic bid-submission system (from round one) are still fresh in HME providers' minds. Cynthia L. Wilson, general manager of UPMC Home Medical Equipment in Pittsburgh, sees the round one problems, and the resulting extension that eventually became necessary, as evidence that competitive bidding is a train wreck in progress and may eventually have to be scrapped.

Concerning competitive bidding, Wilson poses a question, which she then herself answers. "When Medicare patients go to a doctor, they get to choose who that doctor will be. Same with the hospital, the lab, and other providers. But when it comes to HME, Medicare through competitive bidding is, in effect, eliminating freedom of choice. What I want to know is, why are we in home care so different from other providers that the freedom of choice needs to be stopped at our door? I don't think we're different at all."

By that, she says she means it could well turn out that the HME field is but the first step in a long march toward quashing patient choice at every turn. "Eventually, it may be that Medicare tells patients which physical therapist they can see, which rehab hospital they can go to," she says. "Competitive bidding might become something doctors, therapists, hospitals, and labs have to participate in too someday."

Unfortunately, a lot of the more complex, highly specialized products don’t show up on the Medicare Best-Pick lists.

These various challenges have driven some technology suppliers to assume a defensive posture by self-limiting the number of PMD makes and models they are willing to carry. "There are a dozen or so major manufacturers we like to work with, but our suppliers are now saying they're carrying products from only a handful of those, and they're doing that in order to qualify for more favorable pricing and terms," says Mark Schmeler, PhD, OTR/L, ATP, a faculty member in the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology at the University of Pittsburgh and a clinician in the Center for Assistive Technology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "Some suppliers are narrowing our choices even further by having what they call a Medicare ‘Best-Pick' list. Products on that list are the ones the supplier knows he can make a high enough profit on to meet his margins. I fully support efficiencies and streamlining product lines in this business when it comes to simpler interventions such as scooters or basic power wheelchairs, but, unfortunately, a lot of the more complex, highly specialized products we need don't show up on those lists. Even though they're more expensive, the profit margin on them is perceived as low by some suppliers. A lot of suppliers find the best profits are made by carrying low-priced, one-size-fits-all products. Therefore, sometimes, as a clinician, I need to be a little more persistent in advocating for my client needs, but also to push the funding sources to pay appropriately."

Despite that, manufacturers have not abandoned the pursuit of excellence. For example, many of the PMDs they offer now boast a remarkable degree of seating-and-positioning modularity along with flexibility to accommodate the changing needs of users. There also are PMDs featuring improved motor and battery efficiency for longer range operation between charges, and many now sport electronics packages endowed with a remarkable degree of programmability (one manufacturer, as an illustration, came out not long ago with electronics incorporating full-color display, digital photo album, real-time clock, and battery level indicator). At the same time, showrooms are more often carrying highly maneuverable, six-wheel, independent suspension systems capable of handling rough terrain and 3-inch curbs—at least one brand of PMD makes use of technology to keep its sextet of wheels firmly on the ground.

Meanwhile, experts observe that retail mobility continues to make strides, thanks to Baby Boomers eager to remain active: their heart's desire is for products that are portable, maneuverable, stylish, quality-built, and value-laden.

Boomers will soon reach the age when they become eligible for Medicare, but San Martino thinks those seniors-in-the-making who already use a PMD may be in for a rude awakening. "Frankly, Medicare puts people who need a PMD in a bind," she says. "People are required to come in and prove that their existing PMD is in such a state of disrepair that it makes more sense financially to obtain a new one. So, they have to wait until their chair is ready to fail before they can ask for that new one. Also, if a new one is approved for them, they are then faced to wait several months before they can receive it—during that time the old one cannot be repaired. The vendors we've chosen to work with are those who have made it a policy to stockpile old parts and components so they can perform makeshift repairs without having to submit claims—performing the work free of charge—and, in so doing, avoiding administrative problems for the patient during the time they are waiting for that replacement PMD. "

And so, Medicare beneficiaries may have to fight the system hard in order to obtain exactly the PMD they want and need. "It's very sad that here in the United States, where we have so much good equipment and so much good knowledge to draw on, the people with significant disabilities are more and more being treated like second-class citizens," San Martino laments. "If you ask me, we're shooting ourselves in the foot as a society. I'm not so sure that anything Medicare and the third-party payors are currently doing is going to save much money by implementing tough, new rules and programs. The more likely outcome is that we're going to do an incredible injustice to the people who need PMDs."

Rich Smith is a contributing writer for HME Today.