New power wheelchair rule is official

As of April 1, beneficiaries must meet face-to-face with a healthcare practitioner to receive a prescription for a power mobility device. The rule replaces CMS' former "bed-or-chair confined" criterion. According to CMS, the practitioner must also submit documentation from the beneficiary's medical history as evidence of the need for the device. The final rule differs from the interim final rule in that it gives a practitioner 45 days, rather than 30 days, to submit documentation to an equipment supplier after conducting the interview. During a September forum on the CMS decision, suppliers complained that the new prescription method was more complicated than the system it replaces (1"The Gray Sheet" Sept. 19, 2005, p. 9). The final rule also provides an add-on payment to practitioners for the work involved in compiling and transmitting the required documentation to the DME supplier...