You can get a knee scooter with a prescription from a durable medical equipment (DME) supplier, which is the most common route for insurance coverage. Local DME shops, national DME chains like Lincare or Apria, and some pharmacy retailers all carry knee scooters and can process your prescription for billing. If you’re paying out of pocket, online retailers and rental companies are additional options that don’t always require a prescription at all.
The path you take depends on whether you’re going through insurance or buying directly, so here’s how each option works.
Durable Medical Equipment Suppliers
DME suppliers are the standard channel for getting a knee scooter covered by insurance. These are businesses that specialize in medical devices prescribed for home use: wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, and mobility aids like knee scooters. When your doctor writes a prescription, a DME supplier submits the claim to your insurance on your behalf.
You can find local DME shops by searching “medical equipment supplier near me” or asking your doctor’s office for a referral. National chains like Lincare and Apria operate hundreds of locations and handle insurance billing routinely. The key is confirming the supplier is in your insurance network before placing an order. Out-of-network DME providers can leave you with a much larger bill or no coverage at all.
Most DME suppliers offer both rental and purchase options. Your insurer typically decides which one they’ll cover based on how long you need the device.
Pharmacies and Retail Stores
Walgreens sells knee walkers through its stores and website, and many models are FSA and HSA eligible. This makes them a convenient option if you have a flexible spending or health savings account and want to skip the insurance claims process entirely. CVS and other large pharmacies carry similar products online.
These retail purchases generally don’t involve filing an insurance claim through the store. You buy the scooter at the listed price and can submit receipts to your FSA/HSA administrator for reimbursement. If you need your insurance to pay directly, a dedicated DME supplier is the better route.
What Your Prescription Needs to Include
A knee scooter falls under a billing code (E0118) that describes a “crutch substitute,” defined as a wheeled device with a platform that you propel with your uninjured leg. For insurance to cover it, your prescription needs to establish medical necessity, meaning the device is reasonable and required to treat your injury or condition.
Under rules established by the Affordable Care Act, your doctor must have a face-to-face encounter with you within six months before writing the order. This can be with a physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or clinical nurse specialist. The supplier also needs what’s called a Written Order Prior to Delivery: a formal prescription received before they can hand you the equipment. If the supplier gives you a knee scooter before receiving this written order, the claim will be denied.
Your doctor’s office handles most of this paperwork, but it helps to confirm they’ve included a diagnosis code and documented why a knee scooter is medically necessary rather than standard crutches. Common qualifying situations include foot or ankle fractures, post-surgical non-weight-bearing recovery, and conditions that make crutches unsafe (such as upper body weakness or balance issues).
Insurance Coverage and Prior Authorization
Medicare covers knee scooters under its durable medical equipment benefit as long as the reasonable and necessary criteria are met. Private insurers like UnitedHealthcare follow similar rules: the equipment must meet the DME definition, be necessary for treating your illness or injury, and be used in your home.
Some insurance plans require prior authorization before approving the device. This means the DME supplier or your doctor’s office submits the request, and the insurer reviews it before giving the green light. UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans, for instance, may delegate this authorization process to a separate company, so the specific steps vary by plan. Call the member services number on your insurance card to ask whether prior authorization is needed and which DME suppliers are in network.
If your claim is denied, it’s often because of incomplete documentation rather than a blanket policy against knee scooters. Missing face-to-face visit records or a vague prescription are the most common fixable problems.
Renting vs. Buying
Purchasing a knee scooter typically costs between $150 and $400, depending on the model and features. Renting from a local medical supply store runs about $100 per month plus a $100 deposit, so you’re looking at $200 upfront. Some specialty rental companies charge less: Knee Scooter USA, for example, rents standard models at $40 for the first four weeks with no deposit, while all-terrain versions run $60 for the same period.
If your recovery timeline is six weeks or less, renting usually costs less. For longer recoveries, buying becomes the better deal quickly. Insurance plans that cover rentals will typically convert to a purchase after a set number of months.
If you buy online without going through a DME supplier, expect delivery in four to seven days. Rental companies with local pickup locations can get you rolling the same day.
Options When Insurance Denies Coverage
If your insurance won’t cover a knee scooter, you still have affordable alternatives beyond paying full retail price. Medical lending closets are community programs, often run through churches, senior centers, townships, or nonprofits, that loan out equipment like walkers, wheelchairs, and knee scooters at no cost.
The national directory Got DME (gotdme.org) lets you search for lending closets by location. The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab maintains a similar directory focused on the Midwest. Your local village or township hall, faith congregations, and senior centers are also worth calling directly, as many operate small lending programs that aren’t listed in any online database. Organizations like the Illinois Assistive Technology Program run formal loan programs in their states, and similar programs exist nationwide.
Nearly 3,200 pieces of durable medical equipment have been distributed through just one of these programs (DME Durable Medical Exchange), so the scale of available donated equipment is larger than most people realize. If you can’t find a lending closet near you, buying a basic model for $150 to $200 online and submitting the receipt to your FSA or HSA is often the most practical fallback.