Advocacy Issues
Wheelchair Repair Timeliness
More Than Walking is a member of the CT Wheelchair Reform Coalition, an effort by wheelchair consumers, health professionals, and disability rights advocates to push for reforms that will improve the timeliness of and access to wheelchair repairs in Connecticut and beyond. You can follow our progress at www.facebook.com/wheelchairreform Take Action We need your help to reach out to Connecticut legislators to make them aware of the severe delays that wheelchair users face and the significantly beneficial impact legislative changes will have for our entire community. Sign up to get on the list for future instructions on sending a letter, email, or calling your legislator, and notifications about advocacy events. The CT Wheelchair Reform Coalition will be organizing online and in-person advocacy events in coming weeks and months to support legislation in Connecticut. Identify your Connecticut legislators and tell them that their wheelchair repair timeliness needs their attention! Background A CT legislative task force was created in the summer of 2023 to recommend new laws and regulations for tackling absurd delays in getting wheelchair repairs in consumers' homes, the common wait time being at least 2 months. The root cause of these delays has been identified as insufficient staffing by the only major wheelchair repair providers in the state, Numotion and National Seating & Mobility (NSM). Wheelchair user advocates on the task force are pushing for legislation that requires in-home assessments and repairs to be completed within a reasonable amount of time, among other changes such as elimination of insurance prior authorization or new prescriptions and coverage for expedited or overnight shipping of repair parts. Listen to the Where We Live NPR interview that coalition members Jonathan Sigworth and Farrah Garland gave back in June 2023. Check it out here: https://www.ctpublic.org/.../wheelchair-repairs-can-take... Perhaps the greatest driving force behind extensive delays in wheelchair repairs in the USA is the emergence of Private Equity in the Durable Medical Equipment industry. See this November 2023 national report by Eileen O'Grady at PEStakeholder.org. Since the beginning of 2023, More Than Walking Co-founder and CEO Jonathan Sigworth as helped lead advocacy efforts on the issue of wheelchair repair timeliness and currently serves on the CT Wheelchair Repair Task Force, which will make recommendations for 2024 legislation. You can watch the full task force meetings on YouTube and learn more about its members and process here. Questions? Contact Jonathan at jsigworth@morethanwalking.com |