Are Stairlifts Covered By Medicare?

Medicare has been facilitating senior health and hospitalization costs since 1984. Though this health insurance company had been controversial even before it entered the Australian healthcare system (read more), it still played a large role in the improvement of it. It covered old age and disability pensions, maternity allowance, and unemployment/sickness benefits. In the 20th century, medicare has been the pioneer of the rights of many Australian citizens to free and affordable healthcare services.

However, the question begging to be answered is this: does it also cover the cost of installing, buying, and maintaining stairlifts?

Medicare’s Policy

To start answering the question, let’s dive deeper into Medicare’s policy on the matter. This is a question most Australian seniors ask, so it’s logical to start looking for answers to their policies set in stone. According to their coverage choices, they generally cover hospital fees, hospice, laboratory tests, surgery, outpatient care, doctor visits, home health care, and durable medical equipment. 

Although the last two of those covered areas can potentially cover installment, as stairlifts can be considered both part of the home health care and durable medical equipment, Medicare does not consider stairlifts to be a medical sine qua non. This means they won’t be including the installment nor the purchase of stairlifts in their Part A and Part B coverage. 

Unpractical Exception

With policies, there is always an exception to the rule. However, this does not mean such an exception will be leaning towards the beneficiaries’ best interest. Original medicare might be able to pay for a stairlift, as long as the said lift will have an elevating seat. This allows the rider to slide up and slide down from the device safely. However, this addition proves to be very costly, and medicare can only cover a part of the fees.

In other words, you can get assistance from Medicare, but sadly, the overall costs exceed their funds for assistance. Most of the fees will still fall to the beneficiary.

A Silver Lining

However, despite this bleak situation, there is still hope in finding financial assistance for stairlifts. As of 2020, they plan to launch Medicare Advantage, a plan that aims to provide more assistance to those beneficiaries with chronic illnesses. This assistance, according to the CMS, does not necessarily need to be medical-related, only that it can provide improvement in overall daily living and function for the beneficiary. 

With this plan, we can greatly expect stairlifts to be added to the coverage for Medicare Advantage. 

It can also be expected that related companies, such as Coastal Lifts, will be participating with Medicare in providing stairlifts to seniors in need of it. They’re one of the best companies for stairlifts Sydney has to offer.

Current Available Grants For Stairlifts

Veterans have more luck for this advantage than most seniors in Australia. As of today, the VA (Veterans Administration) is the only organization able to provide elderly citizens with stairlifts free of charge. Veterans that are wheelchair-bound and have disabilities that inhibit them from using the stairs in consequence of incidences during service are prioritized in this advantage. They only need a home evaluation from the VA to be authorized for this grant.