Electric Scooters Covered by Medicare: Eligibility, Cost, and Rental

Electric scooters are covered by Medicare Part B as durable medical equipment when your doctor determines you need one to get around inside your home. After the annual Part B deductible ($283 in 2026), Medicare pays 80 percent of the approved amount and you pay the remaining 20 percent. Every scooter now requires prior authorization before the supplier can deliver it.¹

Medicare calls scooters “power-operated vehicles” and groups them with power wheelchairs as power mobility devices. Only basic, functional models are covered. If a scooter has features beyond what your condition requires, Medicare won’t pay for the upgrade.²

Who Qualifies

Coverage depends on meeting every item on a specific checklist. You must have a health condition that makes it significantly hard to move around inside your home, to the point that bathing, dressing, or using the bathroom is difficult even with a cane, walker, or manual wheelchair. If a lower-cost aid would solve the problem, Medicare expects you to use that instead.³

You also need the physical and mental ability to operate the scooter safely, or a caregiver who is always available to help. Both the prescribing doctor and the supplier must accept Medicare. One requirement catches people off guard: your doctor or supplier must verify that the scooter actually fits inside your home. Narrow hallways and doorways can block coverage on their own.³

The medical need has to be for mobility inside your home. Medicare won’t cover a scooter you only need outdoors or for recreation. Once you have a covered scooter, though, nothing stops you from using it outside as well.

The Face-to-Face Exam and Written Order

Before Medicare will approve a scooter, you need a face-to-face examination with your treating doctor. The doctor evaluates your mobility limitations, considers whether simpler equipment would work, and assesses whether you can safely handle a scooter. This exam has to happen within six months before the date on the written order.⁴

After the exam, your doctor writes a standard written order that includes your name or Medicare Beneficiary Identifier, a description of the scooter, the doctor’s name and National Provider Identifier, the date, and the doctor’s signature. The doctor must submit the completed order to the supplier before the supplier can bill Medicare.⁴

Getting the Scooter Through a Medicare Supplier

The supplier does most of the paperwork, but you need to pick the right one. Using a supplier who isn’t enrolled in Medicare means you pay the full cost yourself with no reimbursement. In areas covered by Medicare’s competitive bidding program, you generally must use a contract supplier for that area, or Medicare won’t pay. You can search for approved suppliers at Medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.⁵

Also confirm the supplier accepts assignment, meaning they accept Medicare’s approved amount as full payment. If they don’t, your out-of-pocket costs can climb because the supplier can charge more than the approved amount.

Once you’ve chosen a supplier, they gather the medical records and written order and submit a prior authorization request to Medicare on your behalf. All power-operated vehicles require this step before delivery. Follow up with the supplier to confirm the request was sent and check its status. If a scooter is delivered without prior authorization, the claim will likely be denied.⁶

What You’ll Pay

In 2026, you first pay the $283 Part B deductible. After that, Medicare covers 80 percent of the approved amount and you pay 20 percent.¹

A concrete example: if the Medicare-approved amount is $2,000 and you’ve already met your deductible, Medicare pays $1,600 and you owe $400. If you haven’t met the deductible yet, add $283, bringing your total to $683.⁷

The 13-Month Rental and When You Own It

Medicare doesn’t buy the scooter outright on day one. It pays a monthly rental fee for up to 13 consecutive months. During the rental, the supplier owns the equipment and handles all maintenance and repairs at no cost to you. If something breaks, the supplier must fix or replace it.⁷

After 13 months of continuous rental payments, ownership transfers to you automatically, and the supplier must hand over the title on the first day after that 13th month.⁸

Once you own the scooter, the original supplier no longer has to fix it. You may need to find a different Medicare-enrolled supplier for maintenance. Medicare will pay 80 percent of the approved amount for necessary repairs, and you pay 20 percent. Anything covered by the manufacturer’s warranty is the manufacturer’s responsibility.⁷

When You Can Replace It

Medicare generally considers five years the reasonable useful lifetime for a scooter. After that, if yours is worn out, lost, stolen, or damaged beyond repair, Medicare may cover a replacement as long as you still meet the medical necessity criteria. Before the five-year mark, replacement is harder to justify unless the scooter is genuinely irreparable.⁷

If Your Claim Is Denied

Denials happen, and they’re not always the final word. The most common reasons are incomplete documentation, a face-to-face exam that fell outside the six-month window, or records that don’t clearly establish why a cane or walker wouldn’t work. If Medicare denies your scooter claim, you have 120 days from the date you receive the denial notice to request a redetermination, which is the first level of appeal.⁹

Before filing, ask your doctor whether the denial points to a documentation gap that can be fixed. Often the medical need genuinely exists but the paperwork didn’t spell it out clearly enough. A stronger letter from your doctor addressing the specific reason for denial can make the difference on appeal.

If You Have Medicare Advantage

If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C) instead of Original Medicare, your plan must cover the same categories of DME, including scooters. The suppliers you can use, the costs you pay, and the prior authorization process may differ from Original Medicare. Contact your plan directly before starting the process to find out which suppliers are in network and what documentation they require. If the plan denies a scooter you believe you need, you can appeal through the plan’s internal process and eventually get an independent review.⁷

Help With Your Share of the Cost

Even with Medicare covering 80 percent, the remainder can be a real burden on a fixed income. A few programs can help.

Medigap policies are private supplemental plans designed to fill the gaps in Original Medicare. Most cover Part B coinsurance, which would pick up your 20 percent share for a scooter, and some also cover the Part B deductible.¹⁰

The Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program pays your Part B premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance if your income is low enough to qualify. Providers cannot bill you for any cost-sharing on Medicare-covered items, including scooters.¹¹

If you qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, Medicaid typically covers your Medicare cost-sharing, and you generally don’t need a separate Medigap policy. Income limits for QMB and other Medicare Savings Programs vary by state. Check eligibility and apply through your state Medicaid office or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.

1
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 2026 Medicare Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles
2
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Power Mobility Devices
3
Medicare. Medicare Coverage of Wheelchairs and Scooters
4
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. DMEPOS Order and Face-to-Face Encounter Requirements
5
Medicare.gov. Wheelchairs and Scooters
6
Medicare.gov. Power Wheelchairs That Require Prior Authorization
7
Medicare.gov. Medicare Coverage of Durable Medical Equipment and Other Devices
8
eCFR. 42 CFR 414.229 – Capped Rental Items
9
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). First Level of Appeal: Redetermination by a Medicare Contractor
10
Medicare. Learn What Medigap Covers
11
Medicare.gov. Medicare Savings Programs