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The mission of the ITEM Coalition (Independence Through Enhancement of
Medicare and Medicaid) is to raise awareness and build support for policies
that will improve access to assistive devices, technologies and services
for people of all ages with disabilities and chronic conditions.
The ITEM Coalition's 2005 Policy Agenda calls for federally-supported health programs and private health plans
to:
Modify Medicare’s “in the home” restriction on mobility devices so that
people with disabilities and chronic conditions can obtain the devices
they need to participate in the workplace, school and community;
Appropriately recognize improvements in a person’s function when determining
whether an assistive device or technology is considered “medically necessary.”
Currently, hearing aids, power wheelchairs, and vision aids such as CCTVs
are not routinely covered due to a lack of recognition of the functional
improvement a person can experience with the use of these assistive devices;
Appropriately recognize in the medical necessity determination the value
of preventing primary and secondary injury of people with disabilities
and chronic conditions by covering assistive devices such as grab bars
and other safety devices for home use, lightweight and powered wheelchairs,
and voice-output blood glucose meters;
Support increases in federal research funding to support the efficacy and
cost-effectiveness of these devices for people with disabilities.
The ITEM Coalition is working to develop specific legislative and regulatory policy
proposals that seek to improve assistive device coverage policies in both publicly-supported
programs and private health plans. The Coalition is also collecting personal stories of
individuals about the challenges they face in obtaining the assistive technologies they
need to be health, independent and functional.
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2005 Policy Agenda
ITEM Coalition Testimony, Comments and Letters
Unmet Needs:
American Stories
Victory -- CMS Retracts Power Mobility Policy Clarification!
Medicare's First Significant Step Towards Coverage of Vision Technologies and
Related Services.
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