The patient must be completely incapable of standing up from a regular armchair or any chair in their home. Almost all patients who are capable of ambulating can get out of an ordinary chair if the seat height is appropriate and the chair has arms. Once standing, the patient must have the ability to ambulate. Coverage of seat lift mechanisms is limited to those types which operate smoothly, can be controlled by the patient, and effectively assist a patient in standing up and sitting down without other assistance. Excluded from coverage is the type of lift which operates by spring release mechanism with a sudden, catapult-like motion and jolts the patient from a seated to a standing position.
Coverage is limited to the seat lift mechanism, even if it is incorporated into a chair.
This view is shared by the Health Care Financing Administration and the American Medical Association. The language in the statute does not authorize physicians to separately charge the patient or supplier for completing the certificates. Q - I can no longer get out of my old recliner. I need a Lift Chair to get me up and going. Also I cannot get out to tend to my garden anymore.