Welcome to MedicareWheelchair.org! You will find on this site a variety of manufacturers and suppliers of Power Wheelchairs which can significantly help increasing your mobility and increase your level of independence and self reliance. Medicare Wheelchair application procedures will be listed which will help you get Medicare reimbursement for your power wheelchair expense.

Medicare did not even cover Power Wheelchairs before the year 2005 when a study was published stating the result that actually, if Power Wheelchairs would be given to Medicare insureds with walking and moving disabilities, the overall costs to Medicare would be reduced significantly.

According to estimates, by offering power wheelchairs to insureds, Medicare saves about $3 Billion each and every year since 2005 on emergency room visits related to falls. Disabled people who get equipped with power wheelchairs tend to fall much less than people with similar disabilities but without the power wheelchairs.

Medicare in the US is currently the only government institution that covers power wheelchairs. Medicare in the UK, Canada, and Australia do not cover power wheelchairs at all.

Power Wheelchair vs. Mobility Scooter

Power wheelchairs should not be confused with mobility scooters. The main difference between the two is that mobility scooters employ a tiller that connects to the front wheel(s) and the driver steers the scooter using that tiller. With a power wheelchair, the steering is done usually by operating the left and right power wheel separately, at different speeds. The turning is then controlled by the driver through a joystick that is attached to the armrest. The operation of a power wheelchair requires much less upper body strength and dexterity than the operation of the mobility scooter.

Types of power wheelchairs you can choose from

There are several types of power wheelchairs that you can choose from depending on your mobility needs and characteristics of your disease or condition. You can choose between 4 wheel power wheelchairs, 6 wheel power wheelchairs, lightweight power wheelchairs, heavy duty power wheelchairs, folding power chairs, power tilt or reclining power chairs, travel power chairs, mid-drive power chairs, and more.

Procedure for getting your power chair reimbursed by Medicare

As you can imagine, to prevent abuse, Medicare has since 2005 established clear procedures and requirements to obtain a reimbursement on your Medicare wheelchair. The basic requirements are: You must be willing to use the power wheelchair, You must have sufficient upper body strength to sit in a power chair, and dexterity to steer it, yet you should not have sufficient capacity to operate a mobility scooter, or even a manual wheelchair. Further, you need to be able to get in and out of the chair, yet insufficient mobility to even move from room to room in your residence. In other words, you would pretty much be confined to a chair or a bed if you didn't receive the power wheelchair.

The procedure for obtaining a Medicare reimbursement starts with you checking out the online or offline stores to get an idea about which power wheelchair might work for you best, then talking with the store about the paperwork and what power wheelchair they might recommend to best suit you. Then, a medical mobility evaluation will be necessary by your doctor, and he will produce the "certificate of medical necessity" for the power wheelchair. So, quite a bit of research to be done. Fortunately, a lot of it can be done online.

When all the requirements are met, the paperwork sent to Medicare will be approved in a matter of months, and you will be reimbursed for your Medicare wheelchair purchase according to standard Medicare pay out schedule.