Do you think insurance would cover scooter rental?

[suggies08]

I know this is a long shot but I thought I would ask and see if any of you have had any luck getting your insurance to cover the cost of the scooter rental. My grandma is going with us this year, it has been two years since she has been. She has congestive heart failure, and has to have one. She still gets around good and loves Disney. She was turned down for her own scooter by her insurance company about a year ago. She was just recently in the hospital though for her heart condition. I was thinking maybe we could get a prescription from the doctor and maybe insurance would cover it if its a must? Regardless we will have to have it, I am just checking out my options here. We have to have two scooters since she is going and Scooterama just quoted me $800 OMG I have never paid that much for scooter rental. I am beside myself. Thinking we need to cut down some park days in order to get that rental cost down. Any suggestions or comments are always appreciated.

Thanks, Jess

 

[SueM in MN]

I'd check with all the companies listed in the disABILITIES FAQs thread for prices and also ask them if they ever deal with insurance for payment. You might have better luck with help for insurance from one of the companies that also are full service medical equipment rental places (Care or Walker).

My expectation is that insurance would not cover scooter rental unless she can't walk even in her room or home enough to get around, but someone may have different experience to post and it certainly won't hurt to try. You are right that you would need a prescription from her doctor and it should probably include justification of need. The rental companies should be able to help you on what is needed though.

 

[Belle1962]

My insurance covers most of the rental and my health savings account covers the remainder. I think it is all in how it is submitted/worded by the doctor to the company. I do pay up front and file the claim when I get home. I've never thought to ask if they would file the claim. I just assumed with the volume of rentals the companies in Orlando do--that it would not be cost effective for them to process insurance---what if the insurance doesn't pay all or any? Then THEY have to get it out of the renter..which could be hard to do and involve costly manpower.

 

[SueM in MN]

My insurance covers most of the rental and my health savings account covers the remainder. I think it is all in how it is submitted/worded by the doctor to the company. I do pay up front and file the claim when I get home. I've never thought to ask if they would file the claim. I just assumed with the volume of rentals the companies in Orlando do--that it would not be cost effective for them to process insurance---what if the insurance doesn't pay all or any? Then THEY have to get it out of the renter..which could be hard to do and involve costly manpower.

I should have been more clear in what I wrote.
Anyone can pay any of the companies up front and then submit the bill to the insurance after they get home. And, you are very correct that whether or not they will pay depends a lot on exactly how the claim/doctor's order is worded. The downside to doing that is you won't know until after paying out the money whether or how much will be paid by insurance.

The companies that do general medical equipment rental (Care and Walker) would be experienced with dealing with insurance companies because they have to do it all the time for people who are renting for other reasons than just a WDW trip. Depending on the insurance, they may or may not be able to bill the insurance directly. If they can, they will have contact with the insurance company beffore you arrive and will know before you rent whether or not it will be covered and how much is covered. If they can't bill your insurance directly, you will need to pay up front and file a claim later. However you do it, the companies that are more medically oriented still should work with you to get the correct documentation so you can submit a claim.

 

[suggies08]

Thanks I'm going to give it a shot and see what they say. I figured if I did it enough in advance that maybe they would help cover the cost. I wouldn't mind if they even offered to only pay half. Every little bit helps. She can get around on her own some. She can't do anything major and cannot walk long distances at all. It is hard for her to get around period as she had knee surgery years ago and it still bothers her a lot, especially getting up and down off the rides, in/out of the car, just up and down in general. She is a trooper though, we just have to take it slow. I wouldn't take her without the scooter, I think with the heat and the amount of walking she would have to do she'd never make it. Thanks for the responses if I get a good answer I'll post back lol.

Jess

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I know this is a long shot but I thought I would ask and see if any of you have had any luck getting your insurance to cover the cost of the scooter rental. My grandma is going with us this year, it has been two years since she has been. She has congestive heart failure, and has to have one. She still gets around good and loves Disney. She was turned down for her own scooter by her insurance company about a year ago. She was just recently in the hospital though for her heart condition. I was thinking maybe we could get a prescription from the doctor and maybe insurance would cover it if its a must? Regardless we will have to have it, I am just checking out my options here. We have to have two scooters since she is going and Scooterama just quoted me $800 OMG I have never paid that much for scooter rental. I am beside myself. Thinking we need to cut down some park days in order to get that rental cost down. Any suggestions or comments are always appreciated.

Thanks, Jess

I wouldn't think insurance would cover a scooter rental. When I worked in a doctor's office, it was very difficult for anyone to get insurance to pay for a scooter for their everyday use, but it is worth a shot.

My mother and I had to rent ECV's last December for our trip and for one week only cost us $315.00 for 2 scooters. I would not recommend the company I rented from (I won't even name them), but I got similar quotes from CareMedical and Walker. They seem to be comparable to the rrental fee that WDW has, but it is easier to rent from offsight because of the guarantee they will be available to you for the whole trip.

Good Luck.

Suzanne

 

[suggies08]

Thanks everyone for being kind enough to reply. I have talked to Randy's Mobility and told them what I can afford to pay for the two weeks and they were SO nice and agreed to let me have both scooters for two weeks for $450. We have rented from them in the past and have been pleased so I don't know why I didn't contact them in the first place. They really made my day. That sure is a long way from $800! LOL, again thanks for the replies. I may still give it a shot with the insurance company, can't hurt right?

 

[SueM in MN]