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S 2662

Relates to the New York state dental faculty loan forgiveness incentive program

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Leroy Comrie

The bill requires dealers to provide timely wheelchair repairs (including home repairs for CRTs) and restricts insurer preauthorization for CRT repairs if the prescription is five

REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION
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Bill Summary · S 2662

Summary — S.2662 (2025): Expanding wheelchair warranty & repair protections (Massachusetts)

Note on sources/metadata
- The full bill text supplied is Massachusetts Senate No. 2662 (One Hundred and Ninety‑Fourth General Court) titled “An Act expanding wheelchair warranty protections for consumers with disabilities.” Some of the metadata supplied (a New York dental loan program title, sponsors listed as federal senators, repeated “Referred to Higher Education”) appears inconsistent with the bill text. This summary reflects the substantive text provided (Massachusetts wheelchair‑repair protections).

Purpose
- To strengthen warranty, repair, and insurance‑authorization rules for wheelchairs — including “complex rehabilitation technology” (CRT) wheelchairs — sold or leased in the Commonwealth, to ensure timely repairs, require dealer availability, limit insurer preauthorization for repairs, and create enforceable consumer remedies.

Key definitions
- “Authorized wheelchair dealer”: any company selling or leasing wheelchairs in the state.
- “Wheelchair”: manual or powered device enhancing mobility or positioning, including CRT wheelchairs.
- “Complex rehabilitation technology (CRT) wheelchair”: a medically‑necessary, individually configured manual or powered wheelchair with specialized equipment that requires evaluation, fitting, programming, and long‑term maintenance.
- “Timely repair”: as soon as practicable but not later than 10 business days after a consumer’s repair request (time waiting for insurer prior authorization or parts delivery by compliant dealer is excluded).

Major provisions
1. Dealer repair requirements (Chapter 93, new §107A)
- Dealers must provide timely repairs of wheelchairs they sell/lease; for CRT wheelchairs they must provide home repairs on request.
- Dealers must maintain an email address and phone line to receive/record repair requests daily.
- Dealers must respond to repair requests within 1 business day and order parts within 3 business days after assessing need or receiving insurer authorization.
- Manufacturers/dealers must fill repair/replacement orders from their own inventory or via a written subcontract containing specified minimum terms (contacts, term dates, product descriptions/costs, signatures, credit limits, and a requirement to ship parts by overnight mail when feasible).

  1. Insurance / public program authorization limits (insertions to Ch. 118E, Ch. 175, Ch. 176A)

    • Medicaid division and contracted plans, and private insurers/HMOs, may not require preauthorization for CRT wheelchair repairs unless the original prescription is more than five years old. (Parallel language inserted into relevant Medicaid and insurance chapters.)

  2. Consumer protections & remedies

    • Waivers of these rights are void.
    • Consumers can sue for violations; prevailing consumers are awarded double their pecuniary loss, costs, disbursements, reasonable attorney fees, and equitable relief as appropriate.

  3. Enforcement and rulemaking

    • Attorney General authorized to promulgate rules necessary to implement and enforce the new section (in addition to existing authority under chapter 93A).

Who is affected
- Consumers with disabilities who use wheelchairs (especially CRT users).
- Authorized wheelchair dealers and manufacturers operating in Massachusetts.
- Insurers, Medicaid managed care organizations, HMOs and other health plans that cover wheelchair repairs.
- Subcontractors and parts suppliers meeting dealer inventory/subcontract requirements.
- Massachusetts Attorney General’s office (rulemaking/enforcement).

Procedural status (as provided)
- Introduced in Senate: 2025-08-01.
- Referred and heard in committees: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (hearings 2025‑09‑17); reported favorably by the Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure and referred to Health Care Financing (reported 2025‑11‑10).
- (Note: other listed actions/dates appear inconsistent in the supplied metadata.)

Potential impacts
- Expected to shorten repair wait times for wheelchair users, improve access to home repairs for CRT wheelchair users, and reduce insurer delays by limiting preauthorization requirements for repairs based on prescription age (≤5 years).
- May increase operational and inventory or subcontracting costs for dealers/manufacturers and require changes in insurer prior‑authorization practices.
- Creates increased enforcement and litigation exposure for entities that fail to comply (statutory double damages and fee shifting).

If you want, I can:
- Produce a one‑page fact sheet for consumers or for dealers,
- Create a comparison table showing current law vs. proposed changes, or
- Highlight legislative arguments for and against the bill based on common stakeholder positions.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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