Insight into a Wisconsin woman’s months-long wait to have her wheelchair repaired
It took months to repair her wheelchair, which is common in Wisconsin.
Medicaid recipients in Iowa will no longer be required to provide a prescription for wheelchair repairs under a new administrative rule enacted by state regulators last month.
Effective July 1, the Iowa Department of Public Health repealed an administrative policy that required an in-person doctor’s appointment and prescription for Medicaid to cover the cost of wheelchair repairs.
“The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is aware of concerns about the obstacles and delays in repairing our members’ wheelchairs and is working to best assist our members,” the agency wrote in a letter to medical equipment suppliers last month.
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Removing that requirement removes a major barrier for Iowans with disabilities, said Rep. Josh Turek (D-Council Bluffs). Some Iowans could take weeks or months to complete the steps required under the previous policy and may have to stay home until their equipment is repaired.
“It’s not perfect. We need to do more, but it makes sense,” said Turek, who uses a wheelchair. “I realize that for a healthy person, this may seem like a very small change, but I promise you, for those who are affected by this – wheelchair users, power wheelchair users – this is a huge change.”
The policy still requires recipients to obtain prior authorization for the repair from their managed care organization or the insurers that provide Medicaid coverage to Iowa residents.
The managed care organizations say they aim to complete the approval processes within seven to 10 days. Turek said this will reduce the time it takes many Iowans to get their devices repaired by eliminating the logistical hassle of making an appointment and seeing a doctor in person. This will be a significant improvement for those who live in rural areas, lack reliable transportation or otherwise face other barriers to care.
“The process will undoubtedly cut weeks or months off,” Turek said. “If your wheelchair is already broken and you’re stuck at home, now you don’t have to go to the doctor. You don’t have to wait for it. Once you get that prior authorization, you don’t have to go anywhere, the mechanic can come to you and fix your wheelchair.”
Efforts to enshrine changes in law led to the abandonment of politics
Turek sponsored a bill, House File 2589, in the 2024 legislative session that would have eliminated the prescription requirement. The Iowa House of Representatives unanimously passed another bill to eliminate the requirement, but the Senate did not take it up before key legislative deadlines.
Still, Turek said, the bill sparked discussions with senior health and human services officials who recognized the need to remove barriers for vulnerable Medicaid populations and made the appropriate policy change.
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Turek said he hopes to continue discussions with HHS officials about other ways to improve care for people with disabilities in Iowa. He pointed to another provision in his bill that would have established a “work without worries” program that would have allowed people with disabilities to keep Medicaid benefits even if their work puts them above income and asset limits.
“This is the first step, but it is far from the end of the road,” he said. “I will continue to work there. We need to put some guardrails in place.”
Michaela Ramm covers health care for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at [email protected], (319) 339-7354 or on Twitter at @Michaela_Ramm.
