patrick.net

No Shit Sherlock!

That's not the fucking mystery, the goddamn mystery is, why did it get worse AFTER the "affordable healthcare act" was passed?

Don't confuse Education, with conditioning one's self to believe out right lies.

How much are they paying you?

You have nothing to offer, but spinning liberal lies, you don't even have any poignant thoughts in the shit you're posting. If I had a nickle for every one like you that comes here, I'd finance my own campaign.

Medicare "Rents" shit like wheelchairs. Why somebody 70+ needs to "Rent" a chair they are probably going to need for the rest of their life is beyond me.

The "13 month rent" of DME is pure malarky. They make multiple times the cost of the wheelchair by renting it, instead of just buying it.

Seriously, jojo. I've been trying to get ahold of this story for some time. I even had a subscription to Time magazine - but couldn't access the website. Time makes it damn hard to do so.

So thank you very muchly. :)

Medicare pays 80% of the rental cost for wheelchairs for 13 months, at that point it's pretty much paid off. The cost of buying a wheelchair is outrageous if it's new.

There are a shitload of w/c's in thrift stores, etc. it's crazy - you can get a newer wheelchair for $100 there or have Medicare pay for a new one.

Right now, the DME (durable medical equipment) providers are making bank!

Renting DME cuts both ways. If you die, rent payments stop. If the wheelchair breaks, the rental company has to supply a replacement.

Call it Crazy says

Would you want Medicare to pay outright for a wheelchair that was only needed for a month or two??

You're right. There should be a two tier system; short term rentals and a deeply discounted purchase for DME. However, our lawmakers would not allow Medicare to negotiate for DME and medications.

We had Kaiser denying us left and right on a family member's Medicare privileges when she got sick. Thank goodness for Craigslist, where one can go to find cheap used medical equipment such as hospital beds, walkers, etc.

The ACA is a not-so-good start toward single payer. As soon as all the bloodsuckers are cut out, costs will stabilize and/or drop.

monkframe says

We had Kaiser denying us left and right on a family member's Medicare privileges when she got sick. Thank goodness for Craigslist, where one can go to find cheap used medical equipment such as hospital beds, walkers, etc.

Medicare "Disadvantage" programs really suck. They're cheaper up front, but their goal is to deny benefits.

Call it Crazy says

Go do some research on Competitive Bidding for DME....

competitive bidding isn't everywhere. And DME is nothing compared to the cost of meds, which has no competitive bidding.

elliemae says

monkframe says

We had Kaiser denying us left and right on a family member's Medicare privileges when she got sick. Thank goodness for Craigslist, where one can go to find cheap used medical equipment such as hospital beds, walkers, etc.

Medicare "Disadvantage" programs really suck. They're cheaper up front, but their goal is to deny benefits.

Call it Crazy says

Go do some research on Competitive Bidding for DME....

competitive bidding isn't everywhere. And DME is nothing compared to the cost of meds, which has no competitive bidding.

It is known as "Managed Medicare." Managed, as in stage managed - the hook is coming to yank you off the stage if you get too sick.

IMHO, its "mismanaged" care. I've seen it in action, and it's not pretty.