AL HB75

Authorizes the Board of Home Medical Equipment to discipline wheelchair dealers who repeatedly fail to make timely repairs, defined as within 10 business days of a repair request, with exceptions for consumer unavailability, pending insurance authorization, or delayed parts.

Requires authorized wheelchair dealers to maintain contact information, respond to repair requests within one business day, and order parts within three business days of assessing repair needs.

Mandates Medicaid coverage of customized wheelchairs when medically necessary and eliminates prior authorization requirements for repairs of wheelchairs less than seven years old (five years for recipients under 21).

Requires Medicaid-contracted wheelchair dealers to submit annual reports detailing repair response times, assessment methods, authorization timelines, and completion locations.

Prohibits private health benefit plans issued after January 1, 2026, from requiring new prescriptions or prior authorization for customized wheelchair repairs unless the original prescription is more than five years old.