How medical suppliers rip off medicare and seniors

archer wrote: I did buy one off Amazon, my cost was $20 less than if I had gotten the one ordered by physical therapy through Medicare. I dont plant to put in a claim to medicare.... I saved 20 bucks and medicare saved even more.

Just think of how much the taxpayers would be saved if Medicare were returned to the reimbursement program it started out as and all of those who are receiving their medical subsidy courtesy of the current taxpayers had to do it that way. All of a sudden everyone would care about how much their walker, or their diabetic supplies, or their surgeries, or any other service or equipment obtained through Medicare actually cost.

PrintSmith wrote:

archer wrote: I did buy one off Amazon, my cost was $20 less than if I had gotten the one ordered by physical therapy through Medicare. I dont plant to put in a claim to medicare.... I saved 20 bucks and medicare saved even more.

Just think of how much the taxpayers would be saved if Medicare were returned to the reimbursement program it started out as and all of those who are receiving their medical subsidy courtesy of the current taxpayers had to do it that way. All of a sudden everyone would care about how much their walker, or their diabetic supplies, or their surgeries, or any other service or equipment obtained through Medicare actually cost.

That might work with younger seniors...but I know that my mom, at 95, could not negotiate through the paperwork that is needed in a reimbursement program, nor could she price shop....she does not have a car for shopping or a computer to do it online.....and trust me on this.....she would need one delivered to her fully assembled, which medicare does. I spent an hour with detailed directions to put the one I got for hubby together. And, with so many seniors in assisted living, and nursing homes, you are asking those places to take on the additional paperwork and the extra time it would take for them to do the shopping....prices would certainly go up hurting many seniors even more.

Presumably you could perform the same task for your mother that you did for your husband in shopping for the walker that is needed archer, or is there some reason why you could not find a walker at a reasonable price for her if she were in need of one? Now I will grant you that there is likely a very small minority of seniors of advanced ages like your mother who have outlived everyone who loves and cares about their well being, or who were such miserable parents that their children want absolutely notihng to do with them and care not at all whether they draw even one more breath, let alone if they have the walker they need, but do we design the whole system presuming that no one is going to have anyone to assist them or do we design it presuming the majority are going to have that help?

PrintSmith wrote: Presumably you could perform the same task for your mother that you did for your husband in shopping for the walker that is needed archer, or is there some reason why you could not find a walker at a reasonable price for her if she were in need of one? Now I will grant you that there is likely a very small minority of seniors of advanced ages like your mother who have outlived everyone who loves and cares about their well being, or who were such miserable parents that their children want absolutely notihng to do with them and care not at all whether they draw even one more breath, let alone if they have the walker they need, but do we design the whole system presuming that no one is going to have anyone to assist them or do we design it presuming the majority are going to have that help?

You assume so much PrintSmith.....I don't live in the same town she does......she would certainly need someone to put it together for her, and of course what I would choose might not be what her doctor would want, or order, for her. We design the system PrintSmith to make it as easy as possible for senior citizens to get the medical care and equipment they need....it isn't the system that needs to be changed, it's how medical suppliers take advantage of that system that needs addressing. Do you think it is right for a supplier to be selling a 4 wheel walker through medicare for more than double the MSRP? Then, because Medicare only covers what the walker is worth the patient must pay extra, often, as in this case, more than they could buy it for in their local walmart or on-line? Yet you seem to be blaming seniors and Medicare for being ripped off, not the company taking advantage of them. And, it's not just medicare patients paying too much, it's anyone with insurance coverage. I would bet, though, that insurance companies that have much bigger overhead costs than medicare have the personnel to shop for better suppliers and keep track of the costs, and negotiate better prices. But congress won't let medicare do that.....they can't even let seniors buy drugs from canada or let medicare negotiate for lower prices like the VA does.

Who is responsible for your 95 year old mother's finances archer? And why couldn't that person be responsible for finding the walker the doctor said she needs and being reimbursed by Medicare for that expense? That is, after all, how Medicare was set up originally, wasn't it? As a reimbursement program which encourages competition and low prices instead of a quasi community rate insurance program with little oversight provided which encourages waste, fraud and abuse?

PrintSmith wrote: Who is responsible for your 95 year old mother's finances archer? And why couldn't that person be responsible for finding the walker the doctor said she needs and being reimbursed by Medicare for that expense? That is, after all, how Medicare was set up originally, wasn't it? As a reimbursement program which encourages competition and low prices instead of a quasi community rate insurance program with little oversight provided which encourages waste, fraud and abuse?

I really don't know if Medicare was originally a reimbursement program, got a source on that? My mom has a bank handle all her finances, they even pay her bills.....do her taxes....and handle her investments. I seriously doubt that, even with the tidy fee she pays them each year, they would want to get into the business of ordering her medical equipment. I could be wrong, but I just don't see that as a bank's job. She is not in a home, or assisted living. She has her own apartment and lives quite independently.....and doesn't need a walker or even a cane. But should she someday need one I suspect she will let her doctor order it through medicare and will get it delivered direct to her door all assembled. For her that is a good thing. I would also hope that the supply company is not like the one in Texas who called me and won't rip her off.

You keep ignoring the elephant in my post....do you approve of companies who take advantage of Medicare and seniors by charging more than MSRP for medical equipment?