Lift Chairs and Medicare

Lift chairs are a modern-day aid which allow senior citizens to safely sit, and get up from a chair and are quite popular these days. A motorized lifting base of the chair props an individual sitting in the chair to a standing position in no time. It is a very safe contraption and you can even get financial assistance as you get medicare benefit. These lift chairs come in different shapes and sizes to accommodate occupants of varied shapes and weight. Lift chairs for elderly benefit seniors who have rheumatoid and arthritis problems and find it difficult to put pressure on their joints. Lift chairs range from USD 400 and can go above USD 1000, but you can avail medicare benefits or medical insurance if you are thinking about getting one.

In the early 1980s, there were lift chairs which had a spring mechanism which controlled the movement of the chair but this was considered unsafe. The new lift chairs have a motorized mechanism which allows the movement of the chair in an arc motion. This assists an individual to settle in the chair in a safe manner and the motion also permits the individual to stand up from the chair in a safe way. The seat lift mechanism is considered medically necessary and is covered by medicare. The medicare coverage is limited to the lift mechanism and does not extend to the full chair. The reimbursement offered by medicare for the lift mechanism is around USD 275. There is a list of criteria that a person must fulfill in order to qualify for the lift chair medicare reimbursement. The eligibility requirements are:

• The person should be an arthritis patient to qualify for the coverage. Arthritis of the hip and knee or other ambulatory disorders which make a person unable to stand up or sit on their own can apply for compensation. A person who is just facing difficulty getting up from the normal chairs at home and does not have any other problems does not qualify under medicare eligibility rules.
• Someone who applies for reimbursement should be able to walk on their own accord without the assistance of a care taker, ones they are out of the chair. Lift chairs are for people who have difficulty in sitting in a chair and then getting up from one, it's not for people with total disabilities.
• A physicians prescription is required to receive compensation and most lift chair dealers will have an easy to fill form for a physician to prescribe the chair. The lift chair must be a part of the treatment plan of a physician to improve movement in a patient or to restrict further damage, only then it will be covered by medicare.
• Chairs which facilitate smooth movement of a patient from a sitting position to a standing position will be covered. The operation of the lift mechanism has to be controlled by the patients and they should be able to get in and out of the chair unassisted is an important criteria.

You will need to fulfill all the above criteria requirements to qualify for compensation. Nowadays affordable health insurance which fulfills all medical emergency needs is difficult to come by hence making medicare an important ally. In most cases in order to avoid delay of medical assistance people buy the chairs and then apply for reimbursement. In such a scenario you will need to keep the original receipts of purchase and the doctors prescription to meet the eligibility criteria.