Re: [libreplanet-discuss] [fsf-community-team] Golden Rule

[arthur_torrey]

Don't know about pacemakers, in the power wheelchair world, Medicare IS one of 
the MAJOR problems - along with most of the other insurance companies in the 
US, most of which just copy the Medicare rules...  In a gross 
mis-interpretation of the original legislation, which attempted to make a 
distinction between patients living at home vs. those in an institution, 
Medicare says they will only fund chairs for use "INSIDE the home" - which 
limits speeds, suspension and all the other things that one might want to go 
outside - say to go to a Dr.'s appointment, or grocery shopping - let alone 
more challenging things like driving across the lawn or down some of our 
wonderfully (NOT) paved sidewalks...

Since Medicare and other insurance pays for the vast majority of power chairs 
(similar deal to other medical equipment), the patient USING the chair is not 
the 'customer' - the insurance industry is...  And as the 'customer' they don't 
really care about the patient's needs as much as they do about getting the 
cheapest piece of crap that they can palm of on him / her...  

Add to this that 'medical devices' must be approved by the FDA, who's entire 
incentive structure is to delay and obstruct progress, and "RESNA" 
(Rehabilitation Equipment Society of North America) which is an entrenched 
industry 'standards body' that helps the manufacturer's avoid spending R&D 
money by writing 'standards' that make it prohibitively expensive to enter as a 
competitor, and block efforts to make 'performance' chairs by imposing 
requirements that only oversized tanker chairs can meet...

Essentially Medicare etc. are totally happy with the existing situation...

ART

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Arthur Torrey - <arthur_torrey@comcast.net>
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----- Original TRIMMED Message -----
From: christopher Lucy <chrisbuell1998@gmail.com>
To: Mary-Anne Wolf <mgwmgw@comcast.net>
Cc: Arthur Torrey <arthur_torrey@comcast.net>, 
libreplanet-discuss@libreplanet.org, Aaron E-J <the@otherrealm.org>, Alex 
Marthews <alex@warrantless.org>, James O'Keefe <jokeefe@jamesokeefe.org>
Sent: Wed, 17 Aug 2016 13:31:45 -0000 (UTC)
Subject: Re: [libreplanet-discuss] [fsf-community-team] Golden Rule

Does anyone know where  medicare and BUMMERCARE  STAND ON THESE ISSUES IF
TAX DOLLARS ARE GOING INTO  R&D OR SUPPLY TO END USERS(PATIENTS).CL