WHETHER THE POWER wheelchair market looks rosy or hazy might depend on one's vantage point. From the mid- to high-end segment of the market, it appears pretty bright-and not only because it's active and growing. "When it comes to the high-end products, there isn't the issue with reimbursement there is with the Medicare products," says Rick Suddendorf, director of sales and marketing for Otto Bock Rehab.

Companies such as Permobil, RedmanPower Chairs and Teftec Mobility & Seating have elected to specialize in higher-end wheelchairs, which often sell in the five digits, are custom-designed and are usually paid for by private insurance, legal settlements, various funding agencies or in cash. Although these manufacturers might produce chairs that fall under Medicare codes, they have managed to avoid most Medicare reimbursement woes.

So have suppliers serving niche markets, such as Theradyne Corp., which targets the rehab market, or Gendron Inc. and Wheelchairs of Kansas, which specialize in bariatric power chairs. "We don't run into the funding issues you do with standard power wheelchairs," says Steve Cotter, vice president of Gendron. Bob Clarke, senior product manager for Everest & Jennings, says specialization also allows small companies to get a toehold in the industry. "I think there are still opportunities for companies within small niche markets to survive and do well," he says.

Of course, they may have to give up market share to do so. Without wheelchairs to fit most Medicare classifications, a manufacturer probably can't become a major player in the industry, acknowledges Tom Finch Sr., president of Teftec. "But I don't think you will ever see us do something just to be competitive in another area," he says.

Larry Jackson, chief operating officer of Permobil, shares that sentiment, noting that Permobil has tried to make chairs based on the allowable. "But there's just no way we can make them better and cheaper." -S.H.