(1) The medicaid agency pays for power-drive wheelchairs when the prescribing physician certifies that:

(a) The client can independently and safely operate a power-drive wheelchair;

(b) The client's medical condition negates the client's ability to self-propel any of the wheelchairs listed in the manual wheelchair category in any setting where normal life activities take place; and

(i) Provide the client the only means of independent mobility in any setting where normal life activities take place; or

(ii) Enable a child to achieve age-appropriate independence and developmental milestones.

(2) Additionally, for a three or four-wheeled power-drive scooter/power-operated vehicle (POV), the prescribing physician must certify the client's condition is unlikely to require a standard power-drive wheelchair within the next two years.

(3) When the agency approves a power-drive wheelchair for a client who already has a manual wheelchair, the power-drive wheelchair becomes the client's primary chair, unless the client meets the criteria in subsection (5) of this section.

(4) The agency pays to maintain only the client's primary wheelchair, unless the conditions of subsection (6) of this section apply.

(5) The agency pays for one manual wheelchair and one power-drive wheelchair for noninstitutionalized clients only when one of the following circumstances applies:

(a) The architecture of locations where the client's normal life activities take place are completely unsuitable for a power-drive wheelchair, due to conditions such as narrow hallways, narrow doorways, steps at the entryway, and insufficient turning radius;

(b) The architecture of the bathroom in locations where the client's normal life activities take place is such that power-drive wheelchair access is not possible, and the client needs a manual wheelchair to safely and successfully complete bathroom activities and maintain personal cleanliness; or

(c) The client has a power-drive wheelchair, but also requires a manual wheelchair because the power-drive wheelchair cannot be transported to meet the client's community, workplace, or educational activities. In this case, the manual wheelchair would allow the caregiver to transport the client in a standard automobile or van. The agency requires the client's situation to meet the following conditions:

(i) The client's activities that require the second wheelchair must be located farther than one-fourth of a mile from the client's home or along a pathway that does not provide for safe use of a power wheelchair; and

(ii) Cabulance, public buses, or personal transit are not available, practical, or possible for financial or other reasons.

(6) When the agency approves both a manual wheelchair and a power-drive wheelchair for a noninstitutionalized client who meets one of the circumstances in subsection (5) of this section, the agency pays to maintain both wheelchairs.

PDFWAC 182-543-4200

Wheelchairs—Power-drive.