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A Look At Electric Wheelchairs And Medicare
By Kent Pinkerton, Thu Dec 8th
Electric wheelchairs are very expensive and therefore, it can bea difficult decision whether to buy one. However, Medicareusually covers up to 80% of the cost of electric wheelchairs.Any secondary insurance company will usually cover the rest. To obtain Medicare for electric wheelchairs, certain criteriahave to be met: 1. The person's condition is such that, a wheelchair or scooteris a must for mobility. 2. The person cannot operate a manualwheelchair, hence an electric wheelchair or an electric scooteris required. 3. The person is capable of safely operating thecontrols of a wheelchair or scooter. 4. The person can safelytransfer in and out of a wheelchair or scooter. 5. The personhas adequate trunk stability to safely ride a wheelchair orscooter. 6. The person has not purchased a wheelchair or scooterand obtained reimbursement for that purchase within the lastfive 5 years. 7. Medicare must be the primary insurance carrierfor filing the initial claim with them. 8. If Medicare hadcovered the cost of a manual wheelchair previously, that chairshould be returned to the company for claiming the cost of anelectric wheelchair from Medicare. If
all of these criteria are met, then the person seekingsupport from Medicare should provide a description of thefunctional limitations affecting the patient, which supports themedical necessity of the POV; patient diagnosis requiring thePOV. This information must be furnished on letterhead or otherdocumentation, which identifies the specialty of the orderingphysician. The recommendation for a wheelchair for whichreimbursement is requested needs to be ordered by a neurologist,orthopedic surgeon, rheumatologist, or rehabilitation medicinespecialist.
Medicare supports up to 80% of allowable charges however,reimbursement
amounts vary from state to state. $100.00 isdeductible yearly for
Medicare's Part B. All Medicare claims aresettled within 30 days.
For guaranteed assurance, it is betterto fill out a pre-approval
form from Medicare. |
