H.R. 1703: Choices for Increased Mobility Act of 2026

H.R. 1703 would make Medicare create separate billing codes for ultralight manual wheelchair bases made with titanium or carbon fiber — but it also explicitly lets suppliers charge patients above Medicare's payment amount.

Today, Medicare does not have to sort these ultralight wheelchair bases by premium materials. This bill says that changes in 2028: the government must create at least two billing categories, with at least one for titanium or carbon fiber bases and at least one for bases without those materials.

That matters because separate codes can make these chairs easier to identify inside Medicare's payment system. For people who need a lighter chair for daily mobility, transfers, or self-propelling, that could mean a more tailored coverage category instead of treating every ultralight base the same.

But the bill does not require Medicare to pay the full higher price of those premium-material chairs. It says Medicare would pay suppliers using the same payment frequency and amount structure already used for these wheelchairs, and suppliers could still bill you the gap between their actual charge and what Medicare pays.

The only built-in patient safeguard is a possible notice requirement. HHS could require suppliers to warn you about that financial liability before you buy or rent the chair, but the bill does not cap the extra charge or guarantee the notice will be required.

So the tradeoff is clearer Medicare recognition for lighter wheelchair materials, without protection from balance billing above the program's payment amount.