Does Medicare Pay for Wheelchairs? The Order, Supplier and Costs

Yes. Medicare Part B pays for a manual wheelchair, power wheelchair or scooter when you need it to get around your home and the doctor or other practitioner treating you orders it. After the 2026 Part B deductible of $283, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount, as long as the supplier accepts assignment. Today, book a visit with the doctor treating the condition that limits your walking, and say it is about a wheelchair.

From there the supplier collects the order and visit note, asks Medicare for prior authorization on power chairs, scooters and ultra-lightweight chairs, and delivers once Medicare approves. Medicare rents most wheelchairs for 13 months, and then the chair is yours.

Who qualifies and which chair Medicare pays for

You qualify when a health condition makes moving around your home hard and you are unable to bathe, dress, get in and out of bed or a chair, or use the bathroom even with a cane, crutch or walker. You also need to be able to use the chair safely, or, for a manual or power chair, have a helper who is always available. Medicare pays nothing for a power wheelchair or scooter you need only outside your home.

The visit, the order and prior authorization

Every wheelchair needs a written order from a treating practitioner: a physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant or clinical nurse specialist. A standard manual chair needs the order only before the supplier bills. Every power chair and scooter, and since October 28, 2026 most manual chairs (hemi, lightweight, high-strength, ultra-lightweight, heavy-duty and tilt-in-space models), follow two rules:

• Visit first. The practitioner sees you in person or by telehealth within the 6 months before the order date.
• Order in hand before delivery. The supplier must have the signed order before it brings the chair.

For a power chair or scooter, the practitioner who saw you also signs the order, and the chart note shows that mobility was a major reason for the visit. With as much objective detail as possible, the note explains why a cane, walker or manual chair falls short in your home, why a scooter falls short if you need a power wheelchair, and whether you can drive the device safely. A supplier's checkbox form is no substitute for this note.

Prior authorization applies to Group 1, 2 and 3 power wheelchairs, scooters, and since October 28, 2026, the ultra-lightweight manual wheelchair. Medicare's equipment contractor decides within 5 business days, never more than 7 calendar days, and aims for 2 business days on an expedited request when delay risks your life or health. An approval lasts 6 months, ultra-lightweight chairs included; the supplier delivers inside that window or files again. Since June 1, 2026, suppliers with a 90% approval record are exempt and skip the request; Medicare reviews a sample of their claims afterward.

An ultra-lightweight or tilt-in-space manual chair, and any power chair with power tilt or recline, alternative drive controls or a Group 3 base, also needs an evaluation by a physical or occupational therapist or similar specialist with no financial ties to the supplier, and a supplier that employs a RESNA-certified Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) who helps pick the chair in person. For every power chair and scooter, the supplier or practitioner checks your doorways, thresholds and floors before or at delivery.

Pick a supplier that accepts assignment

Medicare pays only enrolled suppliers; a store without a Medicare supplier number gets nothing, even a large chain. A participating supplier must accept assignment and can charge you only the Part B deductible and the 20% coinsurance. A supplier that refuses assignment can charge more, and on a rental it can bill you the full cost upfront while Medicare pays you back later.

Search the Medicare supplier directory: enter your ZIP code, type wheelchair, and pick the chair type on your order, such as Standard Power Wheelchairs or Scooters. Use the Medicare-approved payment filter, or look for listings marked Charges the Medicare-approved amount.

Rent or buy

• 13-month rental: on the first day after the 13th continuous paid month, the supplier transfers ownership to you.
• Repairs while renting: the supplier must keep the chair working and pick it up for repairs. If it stops responding, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), TTY 1-877-486-2048.
• Buying at delivery: a complex rehabilitative power wheelchair can be bought outright when it first arrives.
• After you own it: Medicare pays 80% of the approved cost of repairs and covers one month's rental of a loaner while your chair is in the shop. A chair that is lost, stolen, damaged beyond repair or past its 5-year useful lifetime qualifies for replacement with a new order. A lost, stolen or damaged power chair or scooter also needs an expedited prior authorization with the police or damage report.

What to do today

1. Book the visit. Call the treating doctor's office and say the visit is about a wheelchair. Bring notes on how far you walk without stopping, whether you stand up from a chair unaided, what you use now, what has changed, and which rooms you struggle to reach.
2. Get the order sent. Ask the office to send the signed order and visit note to your supplier.
3. Pick the supplier. Call two or three from the directory and choose one that is enrolled, accepts assignment every month and stocks your chair type. For a chair that needs an ATP, confirm one will help pick it in person.
4. Track the prior authorization. Ask whether the supplier is exempt. If not, get the date it submitted and call back after 7 calendar days.
5. Prepare for the home check. Measure your narrowest doorway and note any steps before the supplier visits.

What to say to the supplier

"Hi, my doctor is ordering a [manual wheelchair, power wheelchair or scooter] for use in my home. Are you enrolled in Medicare, and will you accept assignment for every rental month? Do you carry [chair type on the order]? Will you send the prior authorization request, or are you exempt? Please ask for a copy of the decision letter for me."

Where it splits

• If you have a Medicare Advantage plan: the plan covers the same categories of equipment, but it decides which suppliers you can use and can require its own prior authorization. The plan decides a standard prior authorization request within 7 calendar days, or within 72 hours when your doctor says waiting could seriously jeopardize your health; it can add up to 14 days in some cases. Appeal a plan denial within 65 days of the date on the notice.
• If you also have Medicaid or QMB: federal law bars suppliers from billing QMB members for the deductible or the 20%. An unapproved prior authorization is enough for the supplier to bill Medicaid, with no Medicare claim denial first. See having both Medicaid and Medicare and Medicare Savings Programs.
• If you need a chair for under 3 months: Medicare turns down a power chair or scooter for a reversible condition, such as recovery from leg surgery. Ask your doctor about a manual chair instead.

When Medicare says no

An unapproved prior authorization comes with a detailed letter listing what was missing. That decision carries no appeal rights; the supplier fixes the gaps and resubmits as often as needed. Get the list from the supplier and take it to your doctor.

If resubmissions fail, the supplier can still deliver and bill Medicare, and the claim denial that follows is appealable. Before delivering a chair it expects Medicare to deny, the supplier hands you an Advance Beneficiary Notice; check Option 1 so the claim goes to Medicare (see our ABN guide). Option 1 lets the supplier ask you to pay now; if Medicare doesn't pay, you owe the bill but can appeal. With QMB or Medicaid, the supplier can't bill you when you sign.

To appeal a denied claim:

1. Find the denial on your Medicare Summary Notice.
2. Circle the chair on a copy of the notice and write why you need it, or fill out Form CMS-20027. Add your doctor's note.
3. Mail it to the address on the notice's last page so it arrives within 120 days of the day you got the notice; Medicare counts that day as 5 days after the notice date.
4. Expect the decision within about 60 days. If you lose, you have 180 days to ask an independent contractor for reconsideration.

• Free help: your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (shiphelp.org) gives one-on-one Medicare counseling at no cost.
• Lawyer: worth a call once a denied power chair reaches an Administrative Law Judge hearing, the third level ($200 minimum in 2026).

Today

Book the visit today. Next come the order, the supplier's prior authorization request where one applies, a decision within 7 calendar days, then delivery.