Buying a Rollator Walker: Costs, Prescription, and Reimbursement
If you have difficulty staying steady on your feet, a Rollator Walker can be a great help. To buy a Rollator Walker, you should first visit your family doctor to get an appropriate prescription. In this article, you will learn how to get a prescription, which costs are covered by the health insurance, and what to consider when buying.
How to get a prescription for a Rollator Walker
If you feel unsteady on your feet and need a Rollator Walker, it is best to consult your family doctor. If they see the necessity for an appropriate prescription, they will issue you a prescription for the Rollator Walker. It is not necessary to have a care level to receive a prescription.
Approval of the Rollator Walker and cost coverage
The prescription must be submitted to the medical supply store to have the aid approved. If the health insurance company covers the costs, you receive a simple basic model on loan for a certain amount for a few years at a medical supply store of your choice. After that, the prescription must be renewed. Consultation and maintenance are included. The basic model is usually heavy and simple. Color and size selection is not possible. The handle height can usually be adjusted, but the seat height and the distance between the handles are fixed. The fixed amount that health insurance companies grant for a Rollator Walker cannot be specified generally, as the insurers conclude regional contracts with service providers, which vary greatly. Usually, this simple insurance Rollator Walker is the cheapest model from manufacturers. It is available privately for 40 to 60 euros.
Costs for higher-quality Rollator Walkers, co-payment model
If you choose a higher-quality Rollator Walker, you pay the difference to the fixed amount out of your own pocket. Whether the Rollator Walker becomes your property or remains the property of the medical supply store must be clarified in advance with your health insurance company and the medical supply store. Surprisingly a higher-quality Rollator Walker with a prescription can be more expensive than private purchase without a prescription. This is because there is a price competition among Rollator Walker providers. In many cases, the prices of Rollator Walkers with a prescription are not listed openly like on the internet, making prices difficult to compare, unlike Rollator Walkers purchased privately without a prescription. This does not apply to all, but it is better to keep this in mind. "Private purchase of a Rollator Walker without a prescription can be cheaper than with a prescription"
The cost coverage by the health insurance company varies. However, it may be similar to the price of a Rollator Walker basic model without a prescription, which ranges between 40 and 60 euros. That is actually not much if you buy a high-quality Rollator Walker. Premium Rollator Walker providers offer various seasonal promotions and discounts. Gorilla Gesund, for example, offers free accessories that are worth more than what you would save with a prescription.
Some health insurance companies cover the costs for higher-quality Rollator Walkers if they are medically necessary and the basic model is not sufficient. However, it is important to clarify with the health insurance company before purchase which costs will be covered and what conditions must be met. Some health insurance companies also require a co-payment of 10 percent of the purchase price, which the customer must pay themselves.
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Types of Rollator Walkers
Rollator Walkers or walking aids are a natural part of everyday life for many elderly people today. Mobile walking aids are constantly evolving, and today there are many different models with various materials and individual features.
Carbon Rollator Walker
Carbon Rollator Walkers form a truly unique class among walking aids. The most noticeable feature of these devices is the significantly lower weight compared to conventional Rollator Walkers.
Lightweight Rollator Walker
These Rollator Walkers are developed from the start with regard to lightness. Lightweight Rollator Walkers lose up to 50% of the weight compared to their standard counterparts.
2 in 1 Rollator Walker & Rollstuhl
Rollator Walkers with wheelchair function are especially suitable for people who need support for short distances but prefer to cover longer distances while sitting.
Indoor Rollator Walker
An Indoor Rollator Walker is specially designed for use indoors, e.g., in an apartment. Therefore, it is sometimes also called an apartment Rollator Walker or house Rollator Walker.
Outdoor Rollator Walker
All-Terrain or Outdoor Rollator Walkers are a particularly robust variant of Rollator Walkers. Often equipped with soft or air tires, they are especially suitable for use in rough terrain.
Shopping Rollator Walker
Shopping Rollator Walkers combine Rollator Walker and shopping trolley, with bags that can carry 20 kg and have 25L volume. They have a seat and provide safety while walking.
What to look for when buying
When buying a Rollator Walker, you should make sure that it fits your height and mobility. A Rollator Walker that is too low or too high can lead to posture damage and pain. A Rollator Walker should also be stable and have good suspension to absorb shocks. If you use the Rollator Walker frequently outdoors, you should pay attention to robust wheels that run stably on different surfaces. A good Rollator Walker should also be easy to handle and have useful features such as a handbrake and a shopping bag.
In summary, it can be said that a Rollator Walker can be a great help to stay safely on your feet. To buy a Rollator Walker, you need a corresponding prescription from your general practitioner. The costs are covered by the health insurance if the basic model is sufficient. If you choose a higher-quality Rollator Walker, you may have to pay the difference yourself. When buying, you should pay attention to a good fit, stability, and useful features.
Our tip: Ask your doctor to prescribe a lightweight Rollator Walker for you. How this affects the reimbursement amount depends on the respective health insurance company. Get informed!
Prof. Dr. med. Ingo Füsgen, Head of the Medical Geriatric Focus at Marienhospital Bottrop, Geriatrics of the University of Witten/Herdecke: "The goal of occupational therapy is the maintenance and promotion of physical mobility and coordination as well as an improvement in walking safety and balance. As part of occupational therapy, seniors learn to operate the Rollator Walker correctly. This form of help for self-help is important to avoid falls!"
If you purchase a Rollator Walker at your own expense, you have the advantage of being able to choose a model that exactly matches your medical condition as well as your wishes and requirements. Just as one is willing to spend a little more on glasses or other devices and items that serve personal health and safety, it is of course also worth paying attention to quality when it comes to the Rollator.
Our tip: Ask your doctor to prescribe some occupational therapy treatments for you. Many doctors do not know that by prescribing a Rollator Walker as an aid, they can also order occupational therapy at the same time. Because practice makes perfect: In occupational therapy, you learn the movement sequence to be able to use a Rollator Walker correctly.
