Equipment becoming even harder and costlier to get
June 3rd, 2008 | by dnw |
Interesting article on the state of getting medical equipment in the States over at New Mobility.
It certainly is an indicator of how the available funds for equipment is becoming scarce — how much is artificial is another argument.
My point is that when something becomes scarce we need to start looking at how something abundant can fill the widening gap.
Lifekludger maintains that the social web has the inherent ability of being able to shrink the isolation that causes scarcity and connect a world full of people in a collaborative force for good.
As Shirky summarises his book ‘Here comes everybody‘ in 5 words — “Group action just got easier“.
Getting Equipment Gets Harder
By Tim Gilmer
June 2008Wheelchair users in the United States are finding out that getting the durable medical equipment they need — and getting it when they need it — is getting harder and costlier. Restrictive documentation policies as well as outdated “in-the-home” language that governs claims decisions in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are creating hassles for DME dealers and consumers. What’s worse, power wheelchair reimbursements made by Medicare — already reduced by 27 percent in January 2007, will be reduced by another 19 percent on July 1 due to Medicare’s national competitive bidding program. Since private insurance companies follow CMS’ lead, these new policies portend a growing nightmare of denials, delays, red tape, and economic hardship for DME dealers and end users alike. <read more>
