Thanks to your calls to legislators, visits to district offices, and letters to the editor, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has revised a potentially damaging policy on its coverage of power mobility devices.

“MS activists led the charge in responding to this issue. I am extremely proud of your diligent grassroots advocacy,” Joyce Nelson, president and CEO of the National MS Society, said. “For people with multiple sclerosis and other severe disabilities who depend on Medicare, this is a significant victory.”

You raised your voice when this new Medicare policy inappropriately used an arbitrary “stand, pivot, and transfer” test — not the functional needs of the individual, as determined by medical experts — to decide the quality of the mobility device that is covered. You took action again when the same policy reduced reimbursement to suppliers of those devices and threatened to limit access to wheelchairs for all beneficiaries no matter their eligibility.

Your lawmakers heard you. Legislators from Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and other states effectively pressured CMS to change its policy. If you know that your legislator responded to this issue, remember to thank them.

The new policy now will allow physicians to prescribe the proper mobility device for their patients and the new fee schedule will ensure that the supply of powered wheelchairs meets the demand. Your incredible activism has helped to completely change this flawed policy and will allow people with MS to receive the equipment they need to maintain their mobility and quality of life.

To read the new policy, visit the CMS Web site.

Thank you for your work to make a positive change for people with MS.