How to Pay For a Light Weight Mobility Scooter – Three Avenues to Pursue

One can quickly lose the joy of life when confined into a house due to a mobility issue. But you can get that joy back by selecting a mobility scooter, especially a light weight mobility scooter. The question comes up, who will pay for it? In the US there are several options. We’ll investigate the three most common options of getting your mobility vehicle paid for: Medicaid and Medicare, and private insurance.

Medicare or Medicaid

Prior to 2005 Medicare and Medicaid would not even consider allowing a purchase of a mobility vehicle regardless of the reasons. However, before 2005 there was a study commissioned which showed that, when the patient would receive a mobility scooter, their cost to Medicare over the following three years would be lower by several thousands of dollars. So Medicare and Medicaid started to allow purchases of mobility scooters for the insureds who needed them.

Of course, to get a medical scooter paid by Medicare or Medicaid, you need to follow strict rules set forth by them. Your first steps after figuring out what medical scooter would best suit your needs would be to contact your doctor. He will give you a prescription as this is how the system works.

The physician will assess your situation and write you a prescription for a medical scooter. He or she must be convinced that you need the scooter for mobility inside your home.

Your physician has to write that you have the capacity, mental and physical, to operate the scooter, and that you can get in and out of it on your own. You need to have good vision and upper body strength. Finally, the doctor must mention that the scooter fits into your house, that is, it has to be able to operate in your home, as this is one of the Medicare requirements.

When your documentation is received by Medicare, they will send an approval of purchase. According to the current law, the reimbursement is 80% after deductible on the accepted price of the scooter.

Getting your lightweight mobility scooter through a private insurance

There is no hard rules here. Best check with the documents that you received when you signed up as for the mobility devices.

The deductibles, eligibility should be spelled out in the manual you received from the insurance company. Read up on it and head on to see your doctor.

These are the possibilities that you can have a light weight mobility scooter paid for in part by Medicaid, Medicare, or a private insurance. Of course your mobility is priority number one.

Finances matter, too. So be sure to explore each possible way of getting your scooter paid for. Worst comes to worse, you may have to finance it yourself. Thank goodness for the internet. You can compare prices, features, on your new light weight mobility scooter choices, all without leaving home.