Does Health Insurance cover wheelchairs?

Verified 18 December 2025 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Yes, since 1er December 2025, wheelchairs are supported in full by the Health Insurance without advance payment. This reform also concerns temporary wheelchair users (for example: the time needed for rehabilitation after an operation or injury). For this, a prescription must have been made by a doctor or other health professional authorized to prescribe (occupational therapist, massage-physiotherapist depending on the situation).

FYI  

This coverage is valid whether you depend on the general plan (CPAM: titleContent) or agricultural (MSA: titleContent).

Vidéo - Understanding the reform of wheelchair care
Credits :  Ministry of Solidarity

All wheelchairs are now fully reimbursed, with a one-stop shop: Health Insurance.

To benefit from this, I first consult a health professional, doctor or occupational therapist in some cases, who evaluates my needs and recommends a category of chairs.

I contact a specialized distributor, which offers armchairs adapted to my living environment. I can test several models. Then I try the chosen model in real conditions, in my daily life, to check that it suits me. Once the chair is selected and validated, the healthcare professional writes the final prescription, incorporating the model, settings, and options. The distributor can send the complete file to the Health Insurance.

With the reform, everything is simplified. There is only one interlocutor left: the Health Insurance.

The response time is 15 days for a modular chair and up to 2 months for the most complex requests. Without a response, the request is accepted and the distributor places the order. He is guaranteed to be reimbursed.

He prepares the chair, makes the necessary adjustments and accompanies me in its use. 

What if I no longer need my chair? The reform provides for the establishment of a reconditioning system: take-back, refurbishment if necessary and return to the circuit. It is a useful, supportive and ecological gesture.

Better adaptation to individual needs and less inequalities of access: this reform is concrete for 150,000 people who have to acquire a wheelchair every year.

Supported Devices

Health insurance coverage applies to wheelchairs registered on the list of refundable products and services (LPP). In particular:

  • Manual wheelchairs
  • Sports chairs
  • Electric armchairs
  • Modular multi-wheeled cycles
  • Modular scooters.

Please note

Some additions or specific options can be supported on quotation, by sending a request for prior agreement to the Health Insurance. Any request for prior approval shall be answered within a maximum of 2 months. If no answer is given within this period, silence is fine.

Conditions of support

The wheelchair must have been prescribed by one health professional (examples: doctor, occupational therapist or massage-physiotherapist depending on the situation).

Wheelchair delivery time

The rules vary depending on whether the chair is standard or no :

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Standard armchair

The chair is made available as soon as the order and delivery are made, usually after a period of days to weeks.

More specific armchair

For a more specific chair with customized options (e.g. electric modular models), testing is necessary to ensure that this matches your needs.

In cases where certain very specific options are not covered, the Health Insurance decides on the request submitted in the form of a quote within a maximum period of 2 months. If no answer is given, silence is fine.

For an additional estimate associated with a request for simultaneous prior agreement for the chair, the overall time of the procedure is 2 months.

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