What do these chairs sell for and what were they billing Medicare for them???
The point I was trying to make in my initial response was that most everything a supplier bills an insurance carrier (including Medicare/Medicaid) for is a lot more than if an individual were to pay cash for the same thing.
I’m not real sure about what the company in question was billing Medicare. I do know that motorized chairs can be purchased by an individual for anything from about $800 to as high as $15,000. The ones I have seen in our grocery store are probably at lease somewhere mid-range from looking at some of the occupants which would require that the construction be pretty sturdy and able to handle a considerable load.
Would so many people be convinced to buy them if they had to pay for them on their own? Probably not. But again, it’s “free” money and no one within the government appears to audit anything. If I were going to buy something to putz around in, I would spend $200 to $300 for a little golf cart. Totally immobile and unable to propel one on my own? I would spend my own money on a motorized wheelchair at the lowest end of the range. I am not one of those people who succumbs to sales hype of “Well, for only a couple hundred dollars more you can get....”.
I do have Medicare insurance but don’t use it and don’t intend to unless I am forced to go into the hospital for something.