Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Orlando Sentinel Publishes Rebuttal to Recent Medicare Column

In “My Word: Medicare bidding flawed,” Aaron Bates from Orlando, Fla., discusses the flaws in a recent column on Medicare’s competitive bidding program which was printed in the Orlando Sentinel. Bates states the article is, “based upon the flawed premise that medical equipment and related services (oxygen therapy, wheelchairs, etc.) delivered to Medicare beneficiaries in their homes should be reimbursed based on what one would pay on the Internet or at a retailer for the equipment alone.

As someone who has used a wheelchair since the age of 4 due to a form of muscular dystrophy, I can tell you that a power wheelchair, specifically fitted for my disability, cannot be acquired over the Internet.

Even oxygen, as a regulated prescription drug, can't just be picked up at a local Walmart. Should a user who depends on supplemental oxygen to stay alive pick it up at Walmart, adjust the flow rate, and maintain this system, plus a back-up, on their own? Will Walmart provide emergency supplies of oxygen after a hurricane when the power's out?”

To read the full piece, visit orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-myword-medicare-072710-20100726,0,6622438.story.

1 comment:

Wheelchair Bling said...

Thanks for the link to that story. It's absolutely right - there's some specialized devices that we can't get at the corner store!