Does Medicare cover power wheelchairs and scooters?

Medicare starts with three tests. You must meet all three for any power chair or scooter.

• You have trouble moving that keeps you from doing daily tasks in your home, like using the toilet, eating, dressing, grooming, or bathing. That means you cannot do them at all, it is not safe to try, or it takes far too long.
• A cane or walker that fits you would not fix the problem.
• You do not have the arm strength or use to push a manual wheelchair around your home during a normal day.

The rule is about your home. Medicare will not pay for a power chair or scooter you need only to get around outside. It also will not pay if your need will last less than 3 months and your condition is expected to get better, like after leg surgery.

In short: you must be unable to get around your own home to do daily tasks with a cane, walker, or manual chair.

Medicare looks at a scooter first. A scooter has a seat, a steering handle called a tiller, and three or four wheels. It is covered when you also meet all of these tests:

• You can get on and off it safely, steer with the tiller, and sit up steady while you drive.
• Your mind and body, including your eyesight, let you drive it safely in your home.
• Your home has enough room, wide enough doorways, and the right floors for it.
• You will use it in your home, and you have not said you will not.

A power wheelchair is covered when you meet the first three tests but cannot use a scooter. For example, you cannot sit up steady or steer a tiller. You must be able to drive the chair safely, or have a helper who can. Your home must have room for it.

• Basic power chairs (Medicare calls them Group 1 and Group 2) need only the tests above.
• Chairs with power tilt, recline, or special controls, and Group 3 chairs, need more. Group 3 chairs are only for trouble moving caused by a nerve or muscle disease or a bone shape you were born with. A physical or occupational therapist must test you and write a report. That person cannot work for the supplier. The supplier must have a certified wheelchair expert (called an ATP) help pick the chair in person.
• Not covered: Group 2 scooters and Group 4 power chairs. They have extra abilities that Medicare says are not needed in the home.

Heavy-duty models have weight rules. A heavy-duty chair or scooter is for people who weigh 285 to 450 pounds.

Medicare sets an approved amount for each kind of chair. It changes by state. Here is what Medicare approves from October to December 2026 in the 48 states and Washington, D.C.:

• Standard power wheelchair (Group 2, with a car-style seat): about $328 to $559 a month to rent. Your 20% is about $66 to $112 a month.
• Basic scooter (for people up to 300 pounds): about $1,001 to $1,359 to buy new. Your 20% is about $200 to $272. To rent, Medicare approves about $100 to $136 a month, so your 20% is about $20 to $27 a month.

You pay your share after the $283 Part B deductible for 2026. Medicare.gov says some rented equipment becomes yours after a set number of payments. Ask your supplier how this works for your chair.

• If you have Medigap: every plan pays some or all of your 20% share.
• If you have Medicare Advantage: your plan sets its own copay or coinsurance, and may need approval first. Check your plan's Evidence of Coverage.
• If you have Medicaid too: Medicaid may pay your share. Ask your state Medicaid office.

1. See your own doctor in person. By law, the doctor who treats you must do this visit and write the order. A foot doctor (podiatrist) cannot order one. The doctor may send you to a physical or occupational therapist for part of the exam.
2. Ask the doctor to write down how you get around at home. The notes should say which daily tasks you cannot do, and why a cane, walker, or manual chair will not work.
3. Get the written order within 6 months of that visit. The supplier must have it before the chair is delivered.
4. Pick a supplier enrolled in Medicare that accepts assignment. That means they take Medicare's approved amount as full payment. Since most power chairs are rented, make sure they accept it every month. You can search on Medicare.gov.
5. Let the supplier ask for prior approval if your chair needs it. Medicare.gov says the supplier usually sends this request for you. If Medicare says yes, the chair must be delivered within 6 months.
6. If Medicare says no, appeal. Your Medicare Summary Notice explains how. A denial for missing papers can often be fixed and sent again.

• A chair for outside only. If you can get around your home but want a scooter for stores or trips, Medicare will not pay.
• A second chair. Medicare pays for one wheelchair at a time. Backup chairs are denied. If your own power chair is being fixed, Medicare can pay for one month of a loaner.
• Upgrades for fun. Extras that mostly help with leisure or sports are not covered.
• Kits that turn a manual chair into a power chair. These are denied.

If a supplier thinks Medicare may deny part of the claim, they may ask you to sign an Advance Beneficiary Notice. Signing means you agree to pay what Medicare does not. Read it before you sign. If you only need help walking short distances, see walkers and rollators or manual wheelchairs.

In short: Medicare pays for one chair that you need inside your home, ordered by your own doctor after an in-person visit.