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Image Is Everything
Despite a massive government crackdown on fraud in the power mobility sector, demand for scooters still grows, offering a viable option for an aging, mobile population. And such unequivocal demand remains the market's primary driver.
“As Medicare continues to review the K0011 claims and requests for power chairs are being denied, dealers and individuals are looking to the scooter market to provide an alternative,” says Al Thieme, president of Amigo Mobility.
Even though the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has retracted the DMERCs' power wheelchair policy clarification issued in December, many in the industry predict a certain level of scrutiny to continue.
“I think the scooter market is going to start expanding more because of [Medicare's scrutiny of] power wheelchairs,” says DuWayne Kramer, president of Leisure-Lift. “[The government is] going to at least put consumer power wheelchairs on the same level as scooters before long. Right now, it depends on how long that will take.”
The scooter alternative is also economical, Kramer explains. “Scooters are a lot less intricate than a power chair,” he explains. “A good-quality scooter is going to be a very long-lasting product, [and they are] more economical to purchase and maintain” than a power chair.
“It all depends on the [consumer's] medical necessity,” he points out.
For Active Lives
Manufacturers say scooters also offer some relief to seniors who feel there is a stigma attached to using a mobility device.
“Today a customer is trying to fit into anything but a power chair,” says Michael Kraft, inside sales support for C.T.M. Mobility. “There's more of a stigma going into a [wheelchair]. The stigma is reversed for scooters,” he says, in part because of a scooter's “sporty look.”
Other industry leaders agree. “It's a travel vehicle instead of a golf cart,” says Patty DeScipio, provider marketing manager for Pride Mobility Products. The smaller units come in “new, fun colors,” such as champagne and viper blue, she says, and are easier to transport than a wheelchair.
