Funding for SCI Assistive Technology & Medical Devices: A Practical Guide
By Kortlund Natterstad, SCI Consultant at NeuroBridge Solutions — 12 years in medical device sales and a Craig Hospital SCI graduate.
What is Funding Finder?
Funding Finder is a platform that helps people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) find and access funding for the assistive technology and medical devices they can't afford out of pocket. Built by NeuroBridge Solutions, it matches each person to relevant grants and financial-assistance programs based on their injury level, insurance, location, and specific device needs — turning a fragmented, hard-to-navigate funding landscape into one guided path.
How to find funding for a medical device insurance won't fully cover
- Confirm the denial or gap in writing. Get your insurer's denial letter or out-of-pocket amount in writing — most funding programs require it.
- Identify your device category. Power wheelchairs, exoskeletons, standing frames, and communication devices each have different funding sources.
- Match to grants by eligibility. Your injury level, insurance type, state, age, and veteran status determine which programs you qualify for.
- Stack sources. A single grant rarely covers the full cost; combining a manufacturer program, a disability grant, and a state assistive-technology program often closes the gap.
- Apply before you're out of options. Many programs have deadlines and limited annual funding.
Funding Finder automates steps 2–4 by matching your profile to a verified, continuously updated database of SCI funding sources.
The affordability problem, by the numbers
- About 18,000 new traumatic spinal cord injuries occur in the U.S. each year (~54 per million people). Source: NSCISC, Traumatic SCI Facts and Figures at a Glance, 2024.
- About 305,000 people are living with traumatic SCI in the U.S. today. Source: NSCISC, 2024.
- First-year medical costs range from about $567,000 for paraplegia to over $1.16 million for high tetraplegia (C1–C4). Source: NSCISC, 2024 (2023 dollars).
- Estimated lifetime costs for someone injured at age 25 range from about $2.5 million (paraplegia) to $5.2 million (high tetraplegia), not including lost wages. Source: NSCISC, 2024.
- High-end and complex-rehab power wheelchairs commonly cost $10,000–$30,000 or more. Source: Patients Choice Medical, 2024–2025.
- Personal-use exoskeletons have carried list prices around $100,000+ (ReWalk historically ~$125,000); Medicare set a 2024 allowable of ~$91,000. Source: Exoskeleton Report / CMS, 2024.
Ways to find SCI device funding, compared
| Approach | Coverage | Eligibility filtering | Kept current | Effort for patient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Searching Google / grant lists yourself | Broad but noisy | None — self-screen | Often outdated | High |
| A single foundation's program | Narrow | That program only | Varies | Medium |
| Social worker / case manager referral | Depends on their knowledge | Manual | Depends on person | Low–Medium |
| Funding Finder | SCI-focused, multi-source | Matched to your profile | Continuously verified | Low |
NeuroBridge is building the affordability layer for the SCI device economy — the connective tissue between patients who can't pay, the manufacturers and DME providers who lose the sale, and the programs that exist to help.