By Jill Stark

Lift chairs, mobility scooters, wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs are all durable medical equipment items that one might think aren’t very difficult to get. Someone who’s had a leg amputated and is covered by Medicare might assume that the need for certain equipment is painfully clear. Even non-amputees who have serious mobility issues can benefit from wheelchairs and power chairs, and often can’t be very mobile without them. And lift chairs can make getting up and down from a chair easy instead of something that’s difficult, or something that might even be impossible without help. One can easily imagine how hard it would be to feel independent if it takes assistance to get up from a living room chair.

So when the need for an item is very clear, the process should be simple. But with Medicare covering all or part of the cost of any of these items, the process can be anything but simple and there can be some surprising obstacles along the way. One Medicare recipient named Jeff recently discovered just how frustrating the process can be. Jeff lost his left leg above the knee after a motorcycle accident in 2004. His other leg was saved with rods and pins, and extensive surgeries. Jeff has also suffered from vertigo since his recovery, an unfortunate side effect of the long-term use of specific intravenous antibiotics that were necessary to save his life.

Amputations above the knee are typically much more difficult to adapt to because the knee in the prosthetic limb is tricky to control. Long-term physical therapy and rehabilitation are required. Jeff spent several months in the hospital, between time spent in the ICU and then a rehabilitation facility where he learned to move from a bed to a wheelchair without his leg and to walk on his new prosthetic limb.

He wasn’t covered by Medicare immediately, because it’s necessary to receive disability benefits for 2 years before you’re eligible. After Medicare coverage started for Jeff, the plan covered a new prosthetic leg to replace the initial, sometimes problematic one he was given. A new manual wheelchair was also covered.

People with prosthetic legs need to have a wheelchair of some sort available, because often the limb gets sore where the prosthetic attaches and rubs. Sores and swelling can develop, and other issues can cause the need to leave the prosthetic off. Because one doesn’t sleep with a prosthetic leg, nighttime bathroom trips, for instance, require a wheelchair. His doctor believed that with his missing limb, especially combined with the vertigo that he suffers which is often made worse by trying to wheel himself, a power chair was something that would help him in his own home and elsewhere.

Medicare eventually approved Jeff’s mobility scooter, but it took a few months during which they denied it as unnecessary, requiring Jeff and his doctor to appeal the decision. Something that seems very cut and driedan amputee with serious balance issues who needed the chair to be mobilebecame an issue that required multiple phone calls and repeated urging by Jeff’s doctor to get through the system. This story isn’t meant to discourage you from applying for things like mobility scooters and lift chairs, but to help you understand that the process can be a long one, and that you should be prepared to continue to provide evidence of medical necessity beyond what you might think is necessary. And if you and your doctor believe you need the equipment, don’t let a denial stop you from applying again and being persistent to get the medical equipment you need.

About the Author: Jill Stark is a technical writer for several online retailers of medical supplies and mobility aids. For more information on how to get your wheelchair, scooter, or

lift chair covered by Medicare

, please visit

Lift-Chairs.com

.

Source:

isnare.com

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