Wayne Grau News Today

Over the last decade, private equity firms acquired scores of wheelchair makers. Now, users routinely wait months to get their chairs repaired.

Dozens of wheelchair users took over a section of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford on Thursday to protest lengthy wheelchair repair wait times.

After a year of meetings the Wheelchair Repair Task Force made its recommendations to three legislative committees this week, but none of them were consensus recommendations.

The bill requires wheelchairs have at least a two-year warranty — up from one year required under the current law. The bill also sets time limits on how quickly a manufacturer has to assess the defective chair and provide a loaner chair. Plus, the bill prohibits prior authorizations from a doctor for repairs under $1,000.

With Connecticut wheelchair users reporting lengthy wait times to get their chairs fixed, advocates argued Thursday with industry representatives over whether hiring additional technicians and dedicating more staff toward home visits would help resolve a backlog of repairs.

Maureen Amirault began trying in 2021 to arrange for the servicer of her wheelchair to repair an ill-fitted footplate. After two years of phone calls, sores and now deformed foot bones, she told a legislative task force last week that the issue remained unresolved.

Wheelchair failures can leave users in pain, out of work, and trapped at home.