Medicare Power Mobility Reimbursement Statistics

For more information, please contact:

The SCOOTER Store
Public Affairs
Mark B. Leita
(830) 627- 4717

Power Chair Reimbursements

The chart below provides an overview of power wheelchair reimbursement since 2002. The graph depicts an unusual growth spike in late 2002. This unexpected increase was caused by random cases of fraudulent practices in the southern United States. This activity was reported to Federal agencies in early 2003 by The SCOOTER Store and other Power Mobility Coalition members.

The graph further depicts the current reaction by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to curb fraud and abuse. However, the restrictive criteria now being applied throughout the country seriously jeopardizes access to power mobility for thousands of senior citizens and disabled Americans. Further, a recent economic study* reports that due to a lack of power mobility, 12 people each day die prematurely. There have been over 48,000 senior citizens under-served due to these restrictive standards, resulting in a lost economic cost benefit of $530 million dollars.

*To view or download this study, click here.

Assumptions:
ANNUAL INDUSTRY GROWTH (Baseline) = 10%

Medicare Power Mobility Utilization

	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Jan		12,018	18,438	13,935	12,406	13,275	10,986
Feb		12,540	18,269	13,517	13,734	14,287	10,153
Mar		13,090	22,807	15,322	16,079	17,093	12,878
Apr		13,640	24,313	14,662	15,877	14,980	11,843
May		14,190	24,369	13,916	16,767	17,083	12,606
Jun		14,508	23,576	14,716	18,194	18,515	13,017
Jul		14,952	23,459	14,167	16,686	16,297	13,327
Aug		16,589	22,991	15,731	19,401	18,758	16,288
Sep		15,828	20,887	14,891	18,624	16,941	13,458
Oct	11,289	18,662	19,424	14,629	17,252	18,075
Nov	10,820	17,261	16,537	14,410	11,365	13,296
Dec	10,366	18,189	15,606	14,806	14,462	9,860

The SCOOTER Store Public Affairs

Power Chair Reimbursements

Medicare Power Mobility Utilization