[bluegirl]

It is not just rental equipment that is overpriced. My daughter got some knee braces a few months ago. The store she got them from is affiliated with a hospital. They charged $395 each for the braces. We looked them up online and found that we could get the exact same braces for $108.

I called the store and asked why they charged so much. I was told that it was because of Medicare/Medicaid. They break the components into various parts per Medicare codes and charge for each part separately. They acted like they had to do it that way.

[Islander7]

“They acted like they had to do it that way. “

They do! MEDICARE determines how billing is done and what codes to use. Unbundling (that is what you are describing) is illegal.

The rental fees don’t tell the whole story. Equipment has to be SERVICED and maintained. There’s a heck of a lot of overhead involved in maintaining and servicing home equipment. There’s a heck of lot of EXPENSE involved in meeting MEDICARE, OHSA, AHA, state and other regulations to qualify as a MEDICARE provider.

If MEDICARE buys the equipment outright (many private insurance companies do.) who maintains it? Oxygen is critical for dependent patients. Who do they call when the equipment breaks in the middle of night?

I was in DME for 12 years. Believe me, it is a tough business requiring a 24/7 commitment.

[EEDUDE]

I called the store and asked why they charged so much. I was told that it was because of Medicare/Medicaid. They break the components into various parts per Medicare codes and charge for each part separately. They acted like they had to do it that way. You speak the truth. But another factor in the cost of this is the massive layer of bureaucrats necessary to handle all the paperwork. We're paying to keep lots of them employed. My PCP will not file insurance claims because of the paperwork.... But he only charges $60.00 per office visit. It's a good trade off. Medicare and Medicaid are rampant with fraud and abuse, but some of it is legit. Bureaucrats write up procedures. It's job security.