Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act of 2017
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a separate Medicare benefit category for complex rehabilitation technology (CRT) items that: (1) are designed or configured to meet an individual's unique needs and capacities; (2) are primarily used to serve a medical or functional purpose; and (3) require certain services to ensure appropriate design, configuration, and use. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall designate CRT items and establish eligibility criteria with respect to such items, in accordance with specified exclusions and other requirements.
The CMS must also establish: (1) a payment system applicable to CRT items, subject to clinical conditions and other specified requirements; (2) quality standards for suppliers of CRT items; and (3) a formal process for the submission of certain CRT code-set modification requests by stakeholder groups.
If specified requirements are met, Medicare payment must be made for the replacement of a CRT item (or item part), without regard to certain continuous-use or useful-lifetime restrictions applicable to items of durable medical equipment.
In addition, Medicare payment may be made for the temporary rental of a CRT item if such an item owned by a qualified enrollee is undergoing necessary repairs.