Medicare will cover the cost of replacing a rented or owned equipment if it is damaged in a natural disaster or by accident, stolen, or lost as long as there is evidence of this theft or damage.
Replacing medical equipment means the substitution of one item for another one as long as they are identical or nearly identical. For instance, Medicare will cover the cost of switching from a manual wheelchair to another. There will however be no cover for replacing a manual wheelchair with a motorized scooter or electric wheelchair.
Medicare will only pay the cost of replacing medical equipment if you have been in possession of it for its entire lifetime. The longevity of an item depends on the type of equipment it is. However, in this context, the lifetime of an item cannot be less than five years from the date of first use. The five-year timeframe is not the same as the three-year minimum lifetime requirement medical equipment and items are expected to meet in order to be regarded as durable medical equipment by Medicare. The item must also have degraded to a point where it can no longer be repaired. Medicare will only cover the cost of repairs up to the cost of replacement.