Sneak peek: Why wheelchairs break so often

Also: New evidence about COVID's effect on male fertility [View in browser](    [❤️]( March 7, 2022 Hello CommonHealth reader, Last July, I was in my kitchen washing dishes as I streamed a committee hearing of the Massachusetts Legislature's Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. I had to put down the sponge. The topic was wheelchairs, and the testimony was so striking that I stopped cleaning and began taking notes. Researchers estimate that [more than 50%]( of wheelchairs break down in a typical six-month period. And it regularly takes months to get a chair fixed. During the hearing, wheelchair users recounted how difficult it made their lives. While they wait on repairs, they can be stranded at home, stuck in bed or reliant on a back-up chair that doesn’t fit well. Researchers have also linked wheelchair breakdowns to increased risk of hospitalizations. In the months that followed the hearing, I began to piece together the reasons behind their hardship. One of them: Medicare does not cover preventive maintenance on wheelchairs. Instead, it expects the wheelchair owner to do routine maintenance on their own with the help of a user manual. After talking with researchers, providers and wheelchair users, slowly it started to make sense why chairs break down so often, and why it takes so long to get them fixed. I am excited to share the result: a two-part series that will air on WBUR and publish online this week. P.S.— On another topic, I have a question for all of you about masks. Across Massachusetts, cities and towns are dropping their mask mandates (if they haven’t already). Boston just lifted its requirement on Saturday. Cambridge will soon. What are your feelings on where and when to mask — if ever? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please just reply to this email. I’m also asking epidemiologists and medical experts on their personal masking practices. I’ll share what I find next week. Gabrielle Emanuel Health reporter [Follow]( Support the news  This Week's Must Reads [Fewer than 10% of applicants have been granted medical parole, frustrating some Mass. lawmakers]( Critics say the Department of Correction is too reluctant to approve the release of seriously ill prisoners despite state law. [Read more.]( [Fewer than 10% of applicants have been granted medical parole, frustrating some Mass. lawmakers]( Critics say the Department of Correction is too reluctant to approve the release of seriously ill prisoners despite state law. [Read more.]( [How one N.H. woman is handling a high-risk pregnancy in the shadow of state’s new abortion law]( Doctors told Lisa Akey one of her twins had no chance of surviving outside the womb. That twin also threatened the life of the other, healthy twin. She’s had to navigate a complicated landscape of specialty medical care, all in the wake of New Hampshire’s recent restrictions on abortion after 24 weeks. 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