Jenny Lieberman, MSOTE/L,ATP, is a passionate advocate for people with disabilities and a long time participant in the annual United Spinal Roll on Capital Hill. She also runs the Wheelchair Clinic at The Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC and sees first hand the looming disaster coming for access to complex rehab equipment and technology.
Read Jenny’s powerful take on why HR-1515,S-1013 matters.
This is a dangerous time for complex rehab technology (CRT). With stricter guidelines, cuts in reimbursement rates and fewer providers out there the lack of access to equipment is rising. If we cannot get the Separate Benefit Category Bill passed (HR-1516, S-1013; see attached document for specifics on bill) and we cannot stop CMS from implementing competitive bidding rates for accessories to CRT (like power tilt, alternative joystick access controls, etc.; see attached letter from congress to CMS to halt this plan) than none of this will matter. Our patients/consumers/clients/ family/friends, those who we should be doing this for, will lose complete access to the necessary equipment they need to just get out of bed.
The Roll on Capitol Hill (ROCH) is not the solution to all these problems but it is a step in the right direction. Consumers and clinicians joining together to travel the hallways of the House and Senate to garner up in support for the needs of CRT has proven to be successful in the past based upon those members who signed onto the bills in the weeks following ROCH previously.
I urge you, as stakeholders in this simply by caring for those who use this equipment, to donate. Whatever you can give, be it $5 or $100. Any little bit helps. And if you can’t give, please spread the word. The more people are aware of the potential lack of access to this much needed equipment, the greater the chance people will speak out to their representatives and fight these changes.
Loss of access to these necessary devices is not only a medical nightmare, but will make quality of life an irrelevant term for those who require CRT to live. If you can’t get out of bed, you can’t live your life. We should not let the government treat our patients, consumers, clients, friends as if they don’t matter.
Jenny Lieberman, MSOTR/L, ATP
Want to help?
Make a donation to United Spinal Roll on Capital Hill campaign by clicking here:
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For more information, see these attachments:
Position Paper- Pass Federal CRT Legislation 4-24-15
