Caregivers Primer

Correction on Wheelchairs and Medicare payments

Since my first post on this subject, I learned how Medicare works with higher priced items.  According to the supplier of our wheelchair, Medicare does a kind of Rent-to-Own deal on wheelchairs and power chairs.  They make payments for 80% of each month for 13 months, at which time the wheelchair is paid off. 

That means you or your personal insurance company would be billed 20% of each of those 13 monthly amounts.  In our case, the 20% monthly charge would have been about $9.30 per month.  That would vary of course according to the total price of the wheelchair.  My understanding is that other expensive items, like power chairs, are purchased for you the same way.

Medicare had paid their 80% immediately for smaller items, such as a walker last summer. 

Remember, you need to select a medical supplier (your doctor, hospital patient representative, or home health care provider can help), obtain a prescription from your doctor, and work with your supplier on any Medicare paperwork to be sure you qualify.

CAUTION on "The Scooter Store" ads to get you qualified for a power chair or it's free.  The Medicare rules changed last year and made it harder to qualify.  One of the reasons (according to another local store that sells electric scooters) was the fact The Scooter Store and other high-volume shops flooded the Medicare system with so many applications that one year, they used up so much of the program funds that it was nearly impossible for smaller companies to get a person qualified for a chair.

So shop around, anyone who says that they can qualify you in a day is probably too good to be true.  My other sources say that paperwork, qualification and approval could take a week or more.

Also, if you need a lift for your car, shop around for those as well.  Some smaller medical supply stores sell used scooters and even lifts, both inside the car models and ones that attach outside on a trailer hitch. 

It seems that a number of people turn in wheelchairs, scooters, and lifts after the passing of the relative that used them.  You can save big money by finding some of these used systems.  For example, a lift for the back of my car, for the weight of my heavy-duty electric scooter, costs about $2400 new.  I found a used one and had it installed for $830.   

Big name companies won't give you any deals or offer used equipment, so you need to check your local phone book and call other places that might help.  Check with trailer and trailer hitch companies and see what businesses they install equipment for.  Even companies that carry batteries carry replacement batteries for power chairs (usually much cheaper than the big name scooter companies) and may know what local medical companies use their batteries.

If you have the advantage of time to look around, you can find a good deal.

Kathy

One location in Florida is in Titusville, near Cape Canaveral. 
B & R Scooters, 1-877-921-9200

Medicare and Wheelchairs

Did you know.......

As I've said in this blog, my mother, 85, broke a bone in her right knee in January.  Half way through the recover period, she developed a stress fracture in the left knee because she had been putting all her weight on the left getting in and out of the wheelchair.  We're now in Week 10 of recover and only now can she get up and use her walker for short periods of time. 

She's got a deadline of sorts.  We're leaving next week to stay with my daughter and help prepare for her wedding on the 26th.  Mom doesn't want to arrive at the chapel in a wheelchair. LOL

I started thinking about all I've learned about wheelchairs in the last couple months and thought I would pass it along.

Paying for the equipment.

Check with your insurance company about "Durable Medical Equipment."  For Medicare and most insurance coverage, you will need a prescription from a doctor or order from a home health agency that is responsible for the patient.  Equipment includes canes, walkers, wheelchairs, power chairs, and even accessories, like a commode chair to keep by the bed at night, or a respirator.

Be sure you understand what is covered.  Medicare, for example, will pay 80% but there are limitations.  They will pay as you get more physically handicapped, first a cane, then a walker, wheelchair, and power chair.  Note that you cannot go backwards, so if you have used Medicare coverage to pay for a wheelchair, you will not be covered for the cost of a walker. 

I believe you can still have a replacement after 3 years but that may have changed, so check it out.  Any medical supply house where you go to get the equipment will know the latest regulations. 

Also, Medicare will pay 80% of up to 13 months rental of a wheelchair if you have a prescription. 

This site gives a good overview of the kinds of equipment that is covered. 

http://www.careutah.com/services/a8_about_home_medical_equipment.htm

Wheelchairs come in a number of sizes, for example, my mother is 4'8" and weighs only 98 pounds.  She has a smaller, 16" wheelchair.  This measurement is the width of the seat.  To determine if a wheelchair will go through the doors in your house, talk to your provider.  Either they will have the wheel width, or you can add 8" to the seat width as an estimate.  They will also be able to tell you the appropriate size needed by the height and weight of the patient.

I was fortunate to have a handy son who came to visit and built a temporary wheelchair ramp for us, but I'll talk about ramps in another post. 

Transportation is my next challenge.  Getting two adults, two dogs, suitcases, gifts, her wheelchair and my walker all in one care for our trip to the wedding.  This should be interesting. 

Take Care

Kathy