Home Health & Hospice Week

Will your advertising practices stand up to scrutiny?

Wheelchair providers who have been in the hot seat since last fall soon could see the heat turned up even higher.

Senate Finance Committee Chairperson Charles Grassley (R-IA) is planning to hold a hearing on power wheelchair and scooter fraud and abuse this spring, the influential senator said in a Feb. 13 release.

Grassley asks the General Accounting Office to brief committee staff on the issue and reiterates the alarming growth figures cited since the outset of Operation Wheeler Dealer. Grassley also refers to the recent bust of Texas wheelchair fraudsters (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XIII, No. 6).

But what's new is Grassley's apparent concern with wheelchair advertising practices.

The accusation: "Some of this spending growth may be fueled by aggressive marketing or outright fraud - both of which can lead to improper payments," Grassley notes in his letter to Comptroller General David Walker.

The defense: "Advertising isn't a fraudulent activity; there's nothing wrong with it," protests Erik Sokol with the Power Mobility Coalition. Grassley may be using obvious fraud concerns to go after ad practices in a roundabout manner, Sokol says.

"Aggressive marketing shouldn't be linked to outright fraud," Sokol stresses. And CMS has declined to meet with the industry about generating guidelines for acceptable advertising, he adds.

But the Feb. 24 meeting will be only a "forum" for wheelchair industry reps to voice their concerns over the change, Sokol points out. CMS will offer no feedback.

"How much ground can you cover if only one side is speaking?" asks Sokol, who calls for a "dialog" with CMS on the controversial change. Most industry reps already have submitted their concerns in writing.