Not too long ago there were several scandals involving people billing Medicare for electric scooters (primarily) and electric wheelchairs. Medicare clamped down and issued some pretty drastic rules about who would qualify to get an "electric mobility device." One of the prime new rules was that the patient had to be unable to move around. He or she had to be confined to a bed or chair and completely unable to "ambulate" to qualify for a scooter or a wheelchair.

So, many people who really had a medical need for an electric chair weren't able to get one. These wheelchairs and scooters run into the thousands of dollars and aren't affordable for many seniors who need them.

Recently Medicare did away with the "bed or chair confined" to qualify rule, but many people didn't get the news. Now reports say that Medicare is also eliminating the need for a "Certificate of Medical Necessity" form.

Instead, Medicare will accept, "...documentation in the medical record of the beneficiary's need for assistance with mobility in the home, as well as the type of technology needed" along with a written prescription from the doctor to the supplier.

Another welcome change is the prescription will no longer have to be from a specialist in physical medicine, orthopedic surgery, neurology or rheumatology. The new rules will allow the patient's regular doctor to prescribe a power wheelchair or power scooter. The physician or "treating practitioner" must have seen the patient for a face-to-face evaluation of the patient within the past 30 days.

This will make power chairs and scooters a whole lot easier to get for people who may be able to walk, but not very well and not very far. And it will save Medicare a bundle on bills for patients who won't need to see an expensive specialist just to get a wheelchair or a scooter prescription.