A recent web news article, I believe at MSNBC, reported on waiting times for disability payments and on the Medicare coverage for "disability aids."

On average, something like 80% of claims are denied at first submittal, regarless of merit. No percentage was given for how many appeal, but of those who do appeal slightly more than 60% are successful.

It takes, currently, about 9 months to do all the examinations and paper work to get to a "first refusal" which is mandatory before one can appeal. It takes a second round of examinations and paperwork to put together an appeal - i.e. a second nine months. After that, the average time before the court appearance, which is mandatory to "determine whether the appeal is allowed" is now just about 18 months after all the examinations and paperwork for the "appeal round" are completed, in most states. After an appeal is approved it often takes another three or more months before the "first payment" is received. In theory, payments eventually are supposed to be retroactive to the "date of impairment" but "the agency" gets to decide when that was in any case.

For most, the minimum time from first filing to an "award" currently is at least three years. (I guess we're just a little above average?)

The same article mentioned, as a side bit, that currently (in most places) the "orthopedic seat cushions" for wheelchairs are not covered by Medicare until after the user has been hospitalized for surgical treatment of the "bed sores." And the article noted that the treatment averages $22,000 per patient - but it "defers" paying the $500 for the cushion. (Since Medicare is administered by the individual states, and each state can write its own rules, there may be lots of variances and deviations in what's covered, so it doesn't hurt to ask in your own area.)

The first scooter I got for Lin was specifically not a medical device. It was mixed in with the "off road toys" and the list price was just over $600. The identical scooter can still be purchased (mail order only) from Walgreens Pharmaceuticals, SAMS Club, or a couple of other places; but all indications are that there still is no service readily available. List price from Walgreens, the last time I looked was just over $800. The closest ones (in design and features) that I've found from "medical suppliers" list at around $1700 to $2300.

The second one we got - on an emergency basis from a local Winfield KS supplier while we were at the WVA Festival had, IIRC, an original list price of about $1700, but they let us have it for $800 because it was a "discontinued model" and we agreed (sort of) not to ask them to service it.

Because both of these were "travel scooters" that can be disassembled and dumped into the trunk in pieces, they both did come with "gel-cell" batteries, which are somewhat different and significantly more expensive than "ordinary deep discharge marine" batteries; but the prices for replacements from the scooter dealers still are approximately 2.3 times the "list price" from more ordinary battery distributors - for the identical battery.

(But if you really want to see "mark up" price a replacement battery for a $10 cell phone.)

A true "gel-cell" can be turned upside down without leaking. For smaller scooters, motorcycle batteries may have "leak resistant" designs, but you do need to look at the battery design, the application, and the attendant likelihood of "tipover accidents." (Both of our little scooters require you to turn the battery package upside down to get it open to replace the batteries. Not a good idea if it leaks even a little bit.)

Most motorized wheelchairs are much heavier than the little travel scooters, with larger wheels and a "more stable platform," and can be expected to stay upright unless ridden by a really wild person; and with care some marine batteries likely could be used fairly safely, although not all "marine batteries" are reliably as spill resistant as I would prefer for this application. In some cases, an automotive "service free" ("sealed cells" with zero water maintenance - in theory) might be better than most "marine" types.

In any case, in most places you can find a "battery dealer" for a much better deal than you'll get from the med houses. The "medical markup" (they say) is because they make it so you don't have to "worry" about getting things right.

John