Second Wheelchair for traveling

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Jhettinger

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Sep 22, 2016
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156
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
4/2016
Country
US
State
GA
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Roswell
Looking at getting TRICARE PRIME to pay for a travel wheelchair "Eagle HD Bariatric Portable Wheelchair" about 3k on sale. My VA PT said the VA would probably not approve (nor should they IMHO).

Has anyone tried this before with TRICARE PRIME ?
 
Seems to me, and this was some time ago, as soon as I got SSDI I got Medicare. With Medicare & TICARE the Medicare pays first and then TRICARE. You might check Medicare and see if they will help with the chair and if they cover some of it, then ask TRICARE to cover the rest.
 
Not old enough for medicare
 
This is the link to the Tricare DME page. Durable Medical Equipment | TRICARE

I am not sure Tricare will pay for it if you have an existing PWC as the portable would be considered a backup. If you have a prescription from your neurologist, I would give it a shot. The worst they can say is NO.

I will say that I got a semi-nasty letter from Express Scripts, the Tricare pharmacy, shortly after my VA disability rating was approved advising me to use the VA pharmacy, not them. I have never pushed the Tricare envelope since I got that letter.
 
Are you getting SSDI (Social Secutity Disability Insurance)? If yes then the following applies I think.

“There are special Medicare eligibility rules for people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
People diagnosed with ALS do not have to be 65 to qualify for Medicare, and they don’t have to wait 25 months to be eligible (as is the case with regular disability-triggered Medicare eligibility).
ALS: You’re eligible for Medicare as soon as your SSDI benefits begin.
For people under 65 who have ALS or ESRD, access to Medigap plans varies from one state to another.“

Source: Medicare eligibility for ALS and ESRD patients

Bill
 
If you are getting SSDI you should be getting Medicare. I get it and I am 44.

As for the chair , I had no luck with the VA. I didn't think to go through Medicare. That might work.
 
My husband was still working and covered by BCBS and Tricare when he got his first chair. He asked the VA for one that he could use outdoors in rough terrain, which they bought knowing that he would use his private insurance to pay for the Permobile. Once we got the Permobile, the VA put it on their records and paid for repairs and upgrades as needed. Get the prescription, present it, and no one should ask you if you have a chair already. The main thing is that medicare and/or tricare have not bought you one yet.
 
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