The Clinician Task Force (CTF) has launched a survey to collect information about Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to better understand those plans’ ongoing denials of power wheelchair claims.
After entering their contact information, survey participants are asked which MA plans they work with. Participants are also being asked why they have decided not to work with certain MA plans, if applicable, with reasons ranging from “Risk of non-payment is too great” to “Reimbursement for equipment is too low” or “Medicare Advantage plan will not [participate in] prior [authorizations].”
Survey respondents are also being asked approximately how many power chair claims they submit to MA plans per month.
As part of the project, CTF is asking providers to submit MA power chair claims to the relevant MA plan while also putting the claims through the traditional Medicare prior authorization process. Providers are then being asked to log information about beneficiaries, claims, and responses from MA plans and traditional Medicare into spreadsheets.
CTF Executive Director Cara Masselink will be collecting those spreadsheets every one to two months and will communicate with providers on timelines. All information collected will be kept confidential, and no identifiable information will be shared.
In a June 6 bulletin to members and stakeholders, the National Coalition for Assistive & Rehab Technology (NCART) said participating in the CTF survey could “impact a long-standing issue in PWC [power wheelchair] provision … Clinical researchers are following ethical and confidential processes to ensure that only the approved researchers know who is participating.”
The CTF’s mission “is to provide clinical based expertise to inform and promote public policy, best practices, and positive outcomes regarding people with disabilities who require Complex Rehab Technology products and related services,” according to the organization’s website.
The organization is made up of seating and wheeled mobility clinicians.
