From: The Center for Medicare Advocacy <
[email protected]>
Sent: November 7, 2014 12:09:24 PM CST
To:
[email protected]
Subject: Your Voice Was Heard
Info by Topic Articles & Alerts Litigation Take Action Donate Newsroom About
Your Voice Was Heard:
CMS Temporarily Rescinds Restrictive SGD Policy
Thank you for taking action on Speech Generating Devices. Yesterday, CMS informed us that it has begun the process of updating its Medicare coverage policy on speech-generating devices!
A new National Coverage Determination (NCD) is expected to be issued by July 31, 2015. While CMS reconsiders the NCD for SGDs, beneficiaries will "continue to have access to this critical technology."
CMS instructed its contractors to roll back a restrictive proposed "Coverage Reminder" and coding review that was to be effective on December 1, 2014. The proposed Coverage Reminder would have limited Medicare coverage only to devices that were dedicated to speech, but were not capable of any other form of communication, such as text or email. The Center for Medicare Advocacy and other groups met with CMS to urge reconsideration of this harmful policy. We were able to show them your support, and share your stories.
The Center for Medicare Advocacy is encouraged by the announcement from CMS, and by the fact that we have been invited to participate in the development of the new NCD until an appropriate policy is finalized. However, we remain concerned that CMS has not commented on the policy implemented earlier this year to remove SGDs from individuals who enter facilities such as hospice or skilled nursing care.To that end, we continue to seek stories from SGD users harmed by CMS policies.
If you, or someone you know, have been harmed by these policies, please contact us at
[email protected]. We are gathering information and data from anyone who wants to be heard, but we are particularly interested in those who can share stories because they have been affected by any of the following:
• They experienced problems keeping their SGD since capped rental payments went into effect.
• They experienced problems getting or keeping non-speech communication functions on their SGD in 2014.
• They experienced problems getting or keeping environmental control functions on their SGD in 2014.
• CMS denied their request for eye-tracking, or other SGD attachments in 2013 or 2014.
If you or someone you know can answer "yes" to any of the questions above, please contact us at
[email protected]. Include the name of the SGD user, email address, phone number, street address, and a summary of the experience. We will not use any of the information you share without your express permission.
Every story we receive helps us advocate to maintain the voices of our most vulnerable citizens. Thank you for your continued support of all those affected by CMS’s SGD policies.
Finally, we want to publically recognize the fantastic work done by the community of Team Gleason and its founder, Steve Gleason. When CMS reduced coverage over the past nine months, Team Gleason stepped up to make sure SGD users had what they needed to live their lives to the fullest extent possible. Their efforts were inspired and heroic.
Kathy Holt
Associate Director/Attorney
Center for Medicare Advocacy
For more information see:
•
http://www.cms.gov/Center/Provider-...ment-DME-Center.html?redirect=/center/dme.asp
• "ALS Patients Face Loss of Medicare Coverage for Devices Used to Help Speech," Washington Post, October 26, 2014.
• "Medicare's Reluctance to Embrace Technology: Effects on the Coverage of Speech Generating Devices," (CMA Alert, June 5, 2014).
You may remove your address from our mailing lists at any time. If you would like an address corrected, or would like to add an address, please contact Matthew Shepard. If you would like to receive a text-only version of this alert, please reply to this message with the subject "text only".
Matthew E. Shepard
Communications Director
Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc.
PO Box 350
Willimantic, CT 06226
[email protected]
(860) 456-7790 (860) 456-2614 (fax)
www.medicareadvocacy.org
The information in this electronic communication is intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entity named above, and may be legally privileged and confidential under applicable law. If the recipient of this message is not the above-named intended recipient(s), you are hereby notified that any dissemination, copy or disclosure of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender above and purge the communication immediately without making any copy or distribution.
Copyright © The Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc.
www.medicareadvocacy.org
