Iowa — Iowans will no longer need a doctor’s prescription in order to get Medicaid-funded repairs to their wheelchairs.
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services has removed the requirement following concerns about barriers and delays. State Representative Josh Turek, a Democrat from Council Bluffs who uses a wheelchair, sponsored a bill last session to change the rule. He says that that unnecessary requirement could delay repairs for weeks.
Turek says getting a prescription required an unneeded face-to-face doctor’s visit, which meant some people would go weeks before getting repairs on their chairs approved.
HHS’s change to the requirement went into effect last month.
