But he said that sales representatives from some scooter companies put pressure on him by accompanying patients to his office. Jerome Epplin of Litchfield, Ill., who also testified before the Senate, estimates that only about one out of every 10 patients who ask him for a scooter actually needs one. One reason for the confusion? Doctors say scooter companies are just as aggressive with health professionals as they are in marketing to their patients.ĭr. and after our discussions, they don't understand that you can't get a power mobility device so mom can go to the park with the family," Peake said in testimony before the Senate Committee on Aging last year. "I talk to a lot of physicians about this subject. Stephen Peake, medical director for the insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield in Tennessee, says doctors can often be as uninformed about the appropriate role of scooters as patients. Now I have a lot more mobility," said Tornabell, whose doctor recommended that he get the device.īut Dr. "I couldn't really get out and do anything before. Now, using the scooter he can walk his dog, go to the grocery store and run other errands. The 73-year-old suffers from obesity, diabetes and lung disease and says he used to never leave his house.
Ernest Tornabell of Boynton Beach, Fla., received a scooter from Pride, a smaller manufacturer, through Medicare about six years ago. The process can help immobile seniors get equipment that improves their lives. The remainder is often picked up by supplemental insurance or the government-funded Medicaid program for low-income and disabled Americans. Medicare pays about 80 percent of that cost, which can range from $1,500 to $3,500. The doctor fills out a lengthy prescription form and sends it to a scooter supplier that delivers the device to the patient and then submits the paperwork to Medicare for payment. Scooters - which are larger than power wheelchairs and often include a handlebar for steering - are covered by Medicare if they are prescribed by a doctor who has completed an evaluation showing that their patient is unable to function at home without a device.
"Patients have been brainwashed by The SCOOTER Store," says Dr. An older gentleman fiddles with a wheelchair lift. And doctors say more than money is at stake: Seniors who use scooters unnecessarily can become sedentary, which can exacerbate obesity and other disorders. Government inspectors say up to 80 percent of the scooters and power wheelchairs Medicare buys go to people who don't meet the requirements. Members of Congress say the ads lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary spending by Medicare, which is only supposed to pay for scooters when seniors are unable to use a cane, walker or regular wheelchair. But the spots by the industry's two leading companies, The SCOOTER Store and Hoveround, also have drawn scrutiny from doctors and lawmakers, who say they create the false impression that scooters are a convenient means of transportation rather than a medical necessity. market for power wheelchairs and scooters. The commercials, which promise freedom and independence to people with limited mobility, have driven the nearly $1 billion U.S.
#HOVER ROUND TV#
WASHINGTON TV ads show smiling seniors enjoying an "active" lifestyle on a motorized scooter, taking in the sights at the Grand Canyon, fishing on a pier and high-fiving their grandchildren at a baseball game.
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