Help for seriously mobility impaired people. I didn't know this existed. [View all]

If you or someone you know is Medicare/Medicaid qualified and housebound due to mobility issues and spending long hours in a wheel chair for an ongoing condition please read on!

I have a friend, she is all of the above for various reasons. For the last five years she has muddled through life trying to integrate into the public transit system and such. As much as they try they really aren't that accommodating, ya know liability and all that happy horse shit.

So five months into chemo for breast cancer (clear and clean!!) her Dr asked if she had a motorized wheelchair (I'm schlepping her around in a lightweight fold up). Hmmm, there's no one he's treating more qualified to have one. He writes a prescription and the process begins. Application is made and evaluation is set up. It's going to take months of processing (insurance ya know) but it's worth the effort.

This is not your Father's wheelchair. It's custom made, weighs 400 pounds (lots of electrics and hydrolyics, sophisticated suspension plus custom measurements). Once delivered she can stay in the chair 24/7 without fear of bed sores (she won't but others do). Simple joystick control and almost all terrain. She can enjoy her back yard patio!

It ain't cheap. The chair can cost as much as a econo car and the copay may be as much as $1000 depending on insurance BUT she will have mobility in her own home and public transit is outfitted for it. Yes, a motorized wheel chair can be had for $3-4k but this isn't one of those. A patient can literally live in one of these.

I post this because it's apparently not widely known that such benefits are available. It takes time and hoops must be jumped through but nobody seems to know about it. It can be life saving. It has to be shown that the chair is necessary for daily in-home use and that must be determined by an in-home visit by a licensed physical therapist certified by Medicare.

They can't say no if you don't ask. It starts with a doctor's prescription. It can be life changing if not life saving.