We applauded New York’s Digital Fair Repair Act, which went into effect just over a year ago.

It seemed to us that smartphones and computers had become essential lifelines and we were pleased that New York was leading the nation in giving consumers the freedom to repair their own devices while also allowing independent repair shops to compete with lower prices.

The new law is good for individuals and also spurs the economy. We support initiatives that help close the gap between wealthy companies — Apple, Dell, and Samsung all do business in New York — and struggling consumers.

Now over half the states in our nation have introduced or passed right-to-repair legislation.

Patricia Fahy, who as a state Assemblywoman shepherded that bill through, now chairs the Senate’s Disabilities Committee. As such, she is sponsoring a similar right-to-repair bill focused on wheelchairs.

At a press conference last week promoting the bill, Fahy cited a 2022 survey  by the United States Public Interest Research Group that found 62 percent of wheelchair users waited four or more weeks for repairs, and 40 percent waited seven or more weeks.

The survey also found how frequently repairs are needed: 93 percent needed at least one repair in the past year, with 77 percent requiring two or more repairs.

 The bill should have bipartisan support. Fahy is a Democrat while the bill’s co-sponsor is a Republican, Jacob Ashby, who has worked as an occupational therapist for 20 years.

“Consider the autonomy,” said Ashby. Someone who uses a wheelchair, he stressed, cannot get out of bed in the morning, or fix a meal to eat, or go to work if their wheelchair is broken.

The people who spoke most powerfully in favor of the bill though were those who spoke from their wheelchairs.

While we thought of our electronic devices as providing an essential lifeline, wheelchairs are even more integral to the life of a person using one.

Shameka Andrews, the founder of Disability Empower Consulting, matter-of-factly told her story of Christmas shopping in Colonie Center last November when her wheelchair abruptly stopped.

“There is no triple-A for wheelchairs,” said Andrews. She didn’t get her repaired chair back until early February and it is still not working right, she said.

Alex Thompson, a lawyer who works as the director of advocacy at the New York Association on Independent Living, described a wheelchair, which he started using after a spinal-chord injury, as “a tool of freedom and independence.”

Thompson said, “It’s a devastating thing when your wheelchair breaks down.”

He also said, “I will try to fix my chair if something goes wrong” but he needs access to parts and manuals. If he had that access, and could make a quick repair, Thompson said, “I don’t have to cancel everything on my calendar for a month.”

The proposed law would allow Thompson to do those repairs himself.

The bill’s stated purpose is “To require a manufacturer to provide parts, embedded software, firmware, tools, or documentation, such as diagnostic, maintenance, or repair manuals, diagrams, or similar information, to independent repair providers and owners of the manufacturer’s powered wheelchairs to allow an independent repair provider or owner to conduct diagnostic, maintenance, or repair services on the owner’s powered wheelchair.”

Erica Molina, a lawyer who works as the program director at Disability Rights New York, said she did not get a power wheelchair until she was 23, in 2010, because her parents’ insurance would not cover the expense, she said. Her father would do repairs on the manual chair she used.

“The current restrictions undermine the civil rights of wheelchair users,” said Molina, noting low-income and rural residents are disproportionately affected. She said just two vendors are approved under Medicaid statewide, calling it a “vendor monopoly.”

“Vendors profit at the expense of our clients’ health and safety,” said Molina.

A 2022 report by Kaiser Health News, part of the Kaiser Family Foundation, bears her out, reporting that the multibillion-dollar power-wheelchair market is dominated by two national suppliers, Numotion and National Seating and Mobility.

“Both are owned by private equity firms that seek to increase profits and cut spending,” the Kaiser report says. “One way they do that is by limiting what they spend on technicians and repairs, which, when combined with insurance and regulatory obstacles, frustrates wheelchair users seeking timely fixes.”

It goes on to cite Provident Healthcare Partners as finding that the $70 billion durable medical equipment market has been an attractive target for private equity investment because of the aging population in the United States, the increasing prevalence of chronic conditions, and a growing preference for older adults to be treated at home.

When Medicare adopted competitive bidding for durable medical equipment in 2011, it allowed large companies to undercut the pricing of smaller, local wheelchair shops, the Kaiser report notes, so Numotion and National Seating and Mobility bought out many smaller companies and now dominate the market.

“Competitive bidding encourages suppliers to press manufacturers for lower-cost wheelchairs, which spurs manufacturers to use lower-quality parts,” the Kaiser report says. 

It also reports, “Medicare’s use of competitive bidding favors large companies that can achieve economies of scale in manufacturing and administrative costs, often at the price of quality and customer service,” says the Kaiser report. “Regulations set by Medicare and adopted by most Medicaid and commercial health plans have led to lower-quality products, no coverage for preventive maintenance, and enough red tape to bring wheelchairs to a halt.”

Medicare and most insurance companies will replace complex wheelchairs only every five years, the report notes, and the wheelchair suppliers that have contracts with public and private health-insurance plans restrict access to parts, tools, and service manuals. They usually keep a limited inventory of parts on hand and wait until health plans approve repair claims before ordering parts.

“Wheelchair users who make fixes themselves may void their warranty or lose out on insurance payments for repairs,” the Kaiser report says.

We strongly support the Consumer Wheelchair Repair Bill of Rights Act, which is modeled on a similar law in Colorado. We hope, as with the right-to-repair legislation, that other states follow suit.

But, even if New York’s bill is signed into law, there is more work to do.

Medicare does not cover preventive maintenance for power wheelchairs so problems often aren’t addressed until something breaks down, leaving the user stranded.

Wheelchair suppliers make most of their money by selling the wheelchair and tend to lose money on repairs so they would rather sell a new one than fix an old one as firsthand experiences shared at Fahy’s press conferences substantiated.

That needs to change.

Also, Medicare officials have interpreted the statute establishing payment for durable medical equipment to cover wheelchairs only for in-home use. As a result, many power wheelchairs aren’t designed for outdoor use and are prone to failures when users take them outside.

Wheelchair manufacturing is big business. “The global market size for active wheelchairs was valued at $2.1 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach approximately $4.5 billion by 2032,” according to one market report. These companies can afford to design and manufacture chairs that will work outdoors.

While these larger changes are needed, the Wheelchair Repair Bill of Rights is a good place to start so that, as Molina said, vendors aren’t profiting at the expense of clients’ health and safety.

Nationwide, 5.5 million people use wheelchairs, with 300,000 wheelchair users in New York state. As our population ages, more of us will be requiring wheelchairs.

And the independence that working wheelchairs grant to current users enriches not just their lives, but all of ours. We must start now to close the gap between wealthy companies and struggling consumers.