Wear and tear is high on some equipment. In those cases, the cost of the equipment is usually paid off in less than six months, but the Medicare billing continues monthly and indefinitely. In some cases as little as three to four months of Medicare payments equal the purchase price of the equipment. Many of these devices are not available for sale to patients, even those with prescriptions. And like most equipment in the rental pool, it tends to be older models that are less user-friendly.
Similar tradeoffs occur between services and equipment.
Medicare appears to have a much easier time approving a wheelchair than it would the physical therapy that would restore mobility. And of course let s not get into the absurdity of federal, insurance company, clinic and medical practice forms, most of which capture redundant information. And we re surprised that physicians don t catch drug interactions. There s almost no end of items to mention, but I ll stop now. Thanks for being our eyes and ears for the many outrages that never make it the general media.