The Scooter Store: 'This is Medicare and America at its best'

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas - The Scooter Store launched a new advertising campaign today that takes direct aim at those who believe Medicare provides too many power wheelchairs and pays too much for them.

The 60-second ad, entitled “This is Medicare and America at its best,” highlights the quality of life improvements and cost savings made possible by power wheelchairs.

“It is unfortunate that this very important Medicare benefit is so often misunderstood,” stated Doug Harrison, president and CEO, in a release. “Clearly, this is a benefit that (the government) should sustain, not reduce.”

In the ad, airing on major news networks in specific markets, senior citizens demonstrate how they use power wheelchairs to complete everyday tasks and discuss other benefits of the equipment.

Chief among those benefits, according to The Scooter Store: Power wheelchairs keep senior citizens not only independent but also out of costly hospitals and nursing homes.

“Our ad emphasizes that increased mobility enhances the lives of Medicare beneficiaries, while pointing out that seniors with power wheelchairs save the government more than $1 billion a year from fewer visits to emergency rooms after falls, and by delaying placements in nursing homes,” Harrison stated.

Harrison also has a cameo in the ad.

“Together, Medicare, physicians and equipment providers bring mobility to those needing it most,” he tells viewers. “Medicare's power mobility benefit has restored pride and dignity to a generation of Americans who helped build and protect our nation.”

To view the ad and other information on power wheelchairs, including graphs that detail reimbursement cuts and utilization, go to www.supportmobilitynow.com.