Legislation that would have sped up wait times for wheelchair repairs has failed to pass the end of the formal legislative session, but advocates are holding out hope that it could still be passed before the end of the year.
Wheelchair users say that they often wait months or over a year to get a part of their chair repaired, and bills in the House and the Senate would have forced companies to complete repairs in 10 days.
Advocates had hoped that the Senate version would be passed as an amendment to the economic development bill, but it was withdrawn at the end of last week. The House version never made it out of committee.
“As a wheelchair user, that is heartbreaking,” said Destiny Maxam, community organizer at the Disability Policy Consortium. “I’m so done waiting and the struggle to know that there’s a solution within arm’s reach, but I can’t grab it myself is so frustrating. Every day that the legislature, and every day that the industry, delays is another day that we’re stuck.”
Many wheelchair users say that the influence of private equity in the industry is partly to blame. Over the last few decades, private equity-backed companies have bought up dozens of smaller companies, leaving wheelchair users with just two options for repairs: Numotion and National Seating & Mobility. Critics say the companies’ business models prioritize cost-cutting, leading to long wait times and less incentives to focus on simple repairs.
Lawmakers on Beacon Hill usually have until July 31 to pass legislation, which was the end of the formal session, but the rules were tweaked this time to allow some bills to keep moving if there is support. Maxam says that puts the wheelchair repair bill “in limbo.” Advocates have filed for an extension that would keep the bills alive through the end of the year.
“There’s still hope that it can pass via informal session,” Maxam said.
Rep. James O’Day, sponsor of the House bill, told GBH News that he believes the wheelchair repair companies need to do better by their customers and prioritize simple repairs.
“They [the companies] realize that these are pieces of equipment that are extremely expensive. They make money on the front end selling them, and then they don’t put anything on the back side of this process,” he said. “[They] should have the wherewithal and the means to repair them and to fix them in a reasonable amount of time.”
Wheelchair users say that while they wait for repairs, they miss work and family obligations, get stuck at home and develop health problems. The House bill would have required companies to finish repairs in 10 business days and order parts within three days, and also remove the prior authorization requirement for smaller repairs.
“If [the companies are] unable to do that, life sort of stands still for [wheelchair users]. They’re unable to go to work, they’re unable to go to school, they’re unable to get out of bed in some instances,” O’Day said.
The National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology, the nonprofit that represents the repair companies, told GBH News that they support changes that can speed up delays. They had previously said they opposed the Massachusetts bill.
“NCART and our members remain committed to working with consumers and legislators to create meaningful legislation in Massachusetts and across the country to improve the repair process of CRT equipment,” NCART said in a statement.
O’Day pointed to policy movement at the federal level as progress. At the end of June, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who represents Massachusetts’ 7th District, introduced a bill in the U.S. House that would remove the requirement that wheelchair repairs be pre-approved for people on Medicare Advantage insurance plans.
On July 24, Sen. Ed Markey and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington State introduced an updated version of their 2024 “Health Over Wealth” bill, which would require private equity-backed companies, including the wheelchair repair companies, to be more transparent by publicly disclosing debt, lobbying activity, costs and more.
The local lawmakers who sponsored the bill said the its failure to pass is a sign that there is still a lack of awareness about the experience of wheelchair users. Still, some are optimistic. State Sen. John Cronin, a sponsor of the Senate bill, noted that the Senate passed a similar bill in 2024 and that he has confidence that the rule changes about the legislative session will help.
“The public testimony that we’ve received from wheelchair users on this issue is just kind of some of the most harrowing testimony that I’ve witnessed as a public official,” Cronin told GBH News. “I do feel confident that this bill is not dead, and we can get it through the Senate by the end of the year.”
