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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 7106
AN ACT CONCERNING RECOMMENDATIONS OF AN ADVISORY
COUNCIL ON WHEELCHAIR REPAIR.
SUMMARY
This bill expands requirements for companies that sell or lease
wheelchairs in the state (”authorized wheelchair dealers”) to address
emergency repairs, customer notifications, reporting, staffing, and
schedule management. Principally, it:
1. expands Medicaid and state employee health plan coverage
requirements for timely wheelchair repair;
2. requires Medicaid coverage for medically necessary customized
wheelchair repair or replacement, and other related costs (e.g.,
maintenance and shipment of needed parts);
3. starting October 1, 2025, allows the Department of Social Services
(DSS) commissioner to recoup or withhold Medicaid payments
for authorized wheelchair dealers who demonstrate systemic
noncompliance with timely repair requirements;
4. requires authorized wheelchair dealers to (a) notify customers in
writing of their rights to timely and emergency repairs and (b)
employ staff and stock parts sufficient to ensure customers
receive these repairs;
5. requires all authorized wheelchair dealers, instead of only those
DSS contracts with, to report to DSS on their compliance with
repair requirements and requires them to report monthly, instead
of annually; and
6. provides that the bill’s provisions do not limit a consumer’s
rights and remedies under existing laws on nonconformities in 2025HB-07106-R000518-BA.DOCX
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assistive technology devices (e.g., refunding, repairing, or
replacing defective devices).
By law, a wheelchair is a manual or motorized wheeled device that
enhances a person’s mobility or position, including complex
rehabilitation technology (CRT) wheelchairs, which are specialized,
medically necessary manual or powered wheelchairs that are
individually configured for the user with specialized equipment that
requires evaluation, configuration, fitting, adjustment, programming,
and long-term maintenance and repair services. The bill specifies that
wheelchairs do not include mobility scooters.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2025, except provisions on state employee
health plan coverage are effective January 1, 2026
WHEELCHAIR DEALER RE QUIREMENTS
Timely and Emergency Repair
Existing law requires authorized wheelchair dealers to timely repair
them, as soon as practicable but no later than 10 business days after the
consumer requests a repair. Under current law, any time spent waiting
for parts delivery or an insurer’s prior authorization is excluded from
the 10-day limit. The bill instead tolls the 10-day limit for any time
waiting for these actions.
The bill additionally requires authorized wheelchair dealers to
provide emergency repairs when a consumer’s wheelchair is rendered
completely inoperable. Emergency repairs are repair services on
weekends and holidays and may include remote repair services if it
renders the wheelchair operable. Under the bill, dealers must provide
emergency repairs of CRT wheelchairs at a consumer’s home upon
request, as is currently required for timely repair.
Responding to Repair Requests
Current law requires wheelchair dealers to respond to repair requests
within one business day after receiving them. The bill requires dealers
to also assess the need for the repair within this timeframe.
Existing law also requires wheelchair dealers to (1) maintain an email 2025HB-07106-R000518-BA.DOCX
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address and phone line for repair requests and (2) order parts for a
repair within three business days after assessing the need for a repair or
receiving an insurer’s prior authorization.
Staffing, Scheduling, and Receipts
The bill requires authorized wheelchair dealers to employ staff and
stock parts sufficient to ensure timely repair and any needed emergency
repair. Dealers must also have a domestic overnight and international
express delivery option for parts needed for repairs that are not already
on the dealer’s premises.
Under the bill, dealers must use a scheduling management system
that provides the following:
1. at least 24-hour notice to a consumer of a nonemergency repair’s
date and time,
2. follow-up emails to a consumer after a repair request to
summarize the request and the estimated time remaining to
complete it, and
3. a contact number or email address at the authorized dealer to
resolve problems with its response to a repair request.
After completing a repair, the bill requires dealers to give consumers
written receipts that include the repair type and the dates the repair was
requested and completed.
Monthly Reports
Current law requires authorized wheelchair dealers who contract
with DSS to sell or lease wheelchairs to Medicaid recipients to report to
the DSS commissioner and the Complex Rehabilitation Technology and
Wheelchair Repair Advisory Council on minimum, maximum, and
average times to complete repairs and comply with other requirements
(e.g., requesting needed insurance prior authorizations).
The bill makes this reporting requirement monthly, rather than
annual, and expands the report’s required content to include the 2025HB-07106-R000518-BA.DOCX
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number of staff the dealer employs, including repair technicians, and
their duties.
Beginning September 1, 2025, the bill also extends this monthly
reporting requirement to all dealers, regardless of whether they contract
with DSS, and requires them to also submit an annual report that
compiles the data in the monthly reports to the DSS commissioner and
the council. It makes related conforming changes.
Additionally, the bill requires the council to approve a uniform
definition for the term “wheelchair repair technician” and associated
qualifications for dealers to use in their reports. The council must give
this information to dealers by August 1, 2025.
Notification and Public Outreach
The bill requires authorized wheelchair dealers to notify customers
in writing of their rights to timely and emergency repairs when the
wheelchair is sold or leased, in an annual mailing, on the dealer’s
website, and in all electronic communications with consumers. Dealers
must do this in consultation with the Office of the Healthcare Advocate
(OHA).
The bill also requires OHA, within available appropriations, to
conduct a public awareness campaign to inform consumers of their
rights to timely wheelchair repairs.
EXPANDED COVERAGE FO R WHEELCHAIR REPAIR
Medical Assistance Coverage
The bill requires the DSS commissioner to provide medical assistance
coverage for the following services:
1. medically necessary repair or replacement of a Medicaid
recipient’s customized wheelchair,
2. a Medicaid recipient’s transportation to an authorized
wheelchair dealer’s repair facility to repair a customized
wheelchair, 2025HB-07106-R000518-BA.DOCX
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3. annual preventative maintenance for a Medicaid recipient’s
customized wheelchair, and
4. payment for domestic overnight delivery or express international
delivery of a customized wheelchair part needed for a repair but
not on the authorized wheelchair dealer’s premises.
Existing law subjects wheelchair repairs and parts replacements to
DSS’s review and approval and requires DSS to provide Medicaid
coverage for a customized wheelchair only when medically necessary
and when it determines that a standard wheelchair does not meet a
person’s needs.
Under current law and the bill, the DSS commissioner may
implement policies and procedures needed to administer the bill’s
provisions while adopting regulations.
Withholding Medicaid Reimbursement
Beginning October 1, 2025, the bill allows the DSS commissioner to
recoup or withhold Medicaid payments for an authorized wheelchair
dealer who demonstrates systemic noncompliance with timely repair
requirements. Under the bill, systemic noncompliance means a dealer’s
failure to meet timely repair requirements for more than five percent of
repair requests in a 30-day period.
State Employee Health Plan Coverage
The bill requires the state comptroller to provide coverage under the
state employee health plan for medically necessary wheelchairs and
their timely repair, as described above, unless otherwise required under
a collective bargaining requirement.
BACKGROUND
Related Bill
sSB 1251, favorably reported by the Human Services Committee,
makes systemic noncompliance with timely wheelchair repair
requirements a Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act violation. 2025HB-07106-R000518-BA.DOCX
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COMMITTEE ACTION
Human Services Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 16 Nay 6 (03/18/2025)