My (24F) Mother (62F) Needs a Lift Chair and Mobility Scooter. We use UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, we live in NYC. All advice welcome.

Off the top of my head, she has Psoriatic Arthritis, a stent in her heart, blood pressure issues, she’s pre-diabetic, anxiety, she’s obese (375-400lb range), her legs swell up very bad and I’m not exactly sure why; this among other medical history, I wish I could give a more accurate picture of it but I can’t think of everything at the moment.

She can barely walk around the house, let alone anywhere else. She’s been housebound for the better part of a year. She needs a mobility scooter and a lift chair, at the VERY least, to even ATTEMPT to get her previous quality of life back. We have the Medicaid-flavored UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, unfortunately. UH is an absolute nightmare; I’ve been trying to get some simple dental work done through them, and the entire ordeal has been enough to push me into Mental Breakdown territory. I can’t even imagine what my mother is going through.

Both of the things that she needs are described as Durable Medical Equipment. Does anyone have any experience with getting DME paid for through UHC Community (Medicaid)???? When I was on the phone with an “advocate” (they advocate for jack shit, frankly) today, she suggested we change her plan to Medicare, and that she’d qualify for Medicare based on her disability even though she’s not 65 yet. I’d go for it if it’s a manageable amount of extra money, especially if it could also get her a Home Aide because me and my dad both work full time and can’t give her the level of care she needs…. it’s something I’m thinking about, we’ll see. But for now, on the Medicaid plan, for the DME… any advice about it would be so very appreciated. Financing a lift chair and mobility scooter myself would set me so far back, I’m already in so much debt, I don’t even know if I CAN actually do it/if I’d be approved for it (I have the “best” credit score in the family at around 650, so this would fall to me to take care of) and frankly, I don’t see why our health insurance shouldn’t pay for this. She’s so uncomfortable at home, I don’t understand how any health insurance could see an accurate description of the state that she’s in and NOT approve this for her.

Thanks in advance for your kindness, fellow redditors <3