My mother is reaching a point where she needs me to push her in a wheelchair when we go shopping. We live in a very small town. Many of the stores do not have wheelchairs available, and the ones that do, mostly have the electric motor scooters. My mother is unable to operate something like that. Will Medicare or Medicaid help us with getting a wheelchair for her?
I tried to get her to donate it while it was still working, but she said no, that she might need it some day. I see wheelchairs at yard sales. Many are donated if someone wants them. I imagine that many people have the motorized chairs just setting in their houses. So Medicare cracked down on it.
Medicare won't cover the cost of a chair to be used outside the home. It's funny like that -- don't ask me the logic. You can talk to her doctor about the possibility of using one inside the home and take it from there. He may write a prescription. You, however, will need to provide any lifts or ramps that are needed to use it outside the home. Ramps are fairly cheap, but the car lifts may cost a bit.
The only chair I've used with my parents is a nice manual one we ordered through Walgreen. It is pretty easy to push. I haven't tried any steep hills with it, though.