Wheelchairs are one of the most common types of durable medical equipment. As such, you might be surprised how much these devices cost.
Luckily, you probably do not have to shoulder the whole cost of your wheelchair by yourself. Here is how Medicare might help.
Medicare coverage for wheelchairs
According to the official government site for program, Medicare should cover most of the costs of acquiring a wheelchair. As you may already suspect if you have dealt with this type of insurance in the past, there are several qualifications to the offer of benefits:
- A deductible and copay applies
- Your doctors and equipment suppliers must meet certain requirements
- Medicare chooses the amount it approves
- Power wheelchairs must be medically necessary
There are various other conditions. Suffice it to say that approval requires adequate knowledge and preparation in most cases.
Other DME under Medicare
Along with wheelchairs often come accessibility concerns. You might need to install lifts for your vehicle or your home, you might need to modify parts of your home or you might need to purchase an accessible vehicle, for example.
If you get support from Medicare or insurance at all for these expenses, you would probably still have a significant amount left over for which you are personally liable. There are a variety of possible options to help you with these larger costs — one possibility is applying for grants, for example.
One of the reasons that personal injury cases turn into legal conflicts is the wide amount of variation possible in these types of expenses. While it is nearly always a good idea to apply for as much assistance as you can, it is also usually wise to pursue maximum compensation for your injuries. This could help in case one or more of your sources of funding does not come through.
