Advocates Call for Changes to Wheelchair Repair Bill

AAHomecare, NCART and HOMES send a letter calling on the leadership of the Massachusetts legislature to make several changes to SB 3136.

• By David Kopf
• Nov 17, 2022

Three industry associations sent a letter to leaders in the Massachusetts legislature registering opposition to a bill aimed at expanding wheelchair warranty protections in the state. 

The bill, S. 3136, contains problematic provisions, such as a definition of warranty coverage that “is much broader than other states’ laws,” according to the letter from the Home Medical Equipment and Services Association of New England (HOMES), the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology (NCART), and the American Association for Homecare:

“We want to stress that we are committed to improving the wheelchair repair process to ensure consumers receive timely and quality repair services and will continue to work with legislators and all stakeholders representing consumers with disabilities to that end,” the letter reads. “However, we need to avoid the unintended negative consequences of legislation that would result in even less consumer access to quality repair services.”

The letter suggests alternate language to differentiate between legitimate warranty issues and normal wear-and-tear, overly prescriptive repair time-frames, length of warranty protections, and other areas to improve the legislation.

To read the full letter, download it as a PDF.