Government support and initiatives have increased the availability of elderly and disabled assistive devices for a large consumer population.
Governments of various nations such the US, the UK, and Switzerland provide grants to disabled people for purchasing assistive devices. The government of Canada allows disabled people to pay little or no tax.
The Global Elderly and Disabled Assistive Market is witnessing product customization and development of user-friendly technologies for the elderly population who is, in general, skeptical of technological devices. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.59 percent during the 2014-2019 period with increased awareness among the population in the APAC region.
Favorable Reimbursement Scenario
In several developed countries, governments provide medical insurance to people over the age of 65. In the US, around 80 percent of the cost a powered wheelchair is reimbursed under the Medicare program and only 20 percent is borne by the customer. However, screening for mobility-related conditions and medical documentation are required to fulfill certain conditions for reimbursement.
Several vendors in the market provide reimbursement codes for several of their mobility aids. For instance, Invacare provides reimbursement for power wheelchair accessories, head control interfaces, and non-proportional interface (that includes all related electronics, mechanical stop switch, mechanical direction change switch, head array, and fixed mounting hardware).
Increased Wheelchair Rental Services
Several players in the Global Elderly and Disabled Assistive Market provide powered wheelchairs for short durations of time through a rental service to maximize profit and for specific customer needs.
Knee replacements, hip adjustments, and other medical procedures may restrict or suspend use of the lower extremities in the short term. In such cases, renting a powered wheelchair is preferable to buying one. In addition, companies also provide wheelchairs to rent on a trial basis before actual purchase.
For instance, Hoveround offers one month, two month, and three month rental plans for their powered wheelchairs, so that the user can opt to purchase the powered wheelchair within thirty days of the rental agreement.
