Mom had one of those electrified lounger chairs to help her stand up. She'd bought it used, years ago, from the family of a friend who had died. Well, I arrived this morning to do her shopping, take her to lunch and to her dr. appt.

"My chair broke" It sure did--the back fell off????

I asked the dr. about buying a new one. Yep--Medicare pays a significant amount toward it. She picked out an $800 chair (I really thought it would be more, but she found one for that price that she liked, that was comfy). There was no tax, since it's considered a medical expense. Medicare and her secondary will be picking up about $300 of the cost. So she got a nice new chair for about $400--you can't buy a recliner at a discount store for that.

So always check, to see if the things your 'charges' need are considered medical expenses and are reimbursible. I figure it never hurts to ask the question--and we've saved a lot over the years because I'm so 'pushy'. The gal at the medical supply house was really helpful, too--had a few good suggestions about things that I didn't think to ask about. Always good to cultivate a relationship with someone like that--you can learn so much from them.