Bonnie, it sounds to me as if the DME wasn't the most honest company; there are some like that. We had an oxygen supplier that's been terminated but they're still trying to get my father to provide his credit card information and agree to a multitude of legal commitments. I'm just about ready to report them to Medicare, when I get the time to go through the multitude of 6 page agreements they had Dad sign every time they serviced the oxygen equipment or delivered supplies.
As to renting vs. buying, I'm just not following the issues, although it's been some time since we dealt with wheelchairs. Same issue with the nebulizer. I'm not understanding why you would buy one directly through Medicare. Must be something I'm missing in the situation.
Are you buying these outright, without prescriptions from doctors? If so, yes, you probably are going to pay more, especially with a DME. But I've really never heard of buying directly from Medicare. Is this being coordinated or recommended through a hospital, doctor's office, rehab facility, or did you make contact with the DME directly?
My dilemma is whether I should buy one or rent one as dme. My neighbor tells me when they tried to rent one for her mother they found after the 13 months there were additional costs by the medical supply company for maintenance. I guess I had better call the medical supplier and ask. We bought my husbands nebulizer outright when his quit. We found one brand new online for 60.00. If we had went through Medicare it would have been way more expensive.
Bonnie, it's been so long since we acquired a wheelchair I really don't remember the circumstances, but I can address other equipment acquired through Medicare.
The appropriate doctor scripted for it, his office contacted a DME, and that supplier brought the equipment. Since we have a Medigap C policy, we paid nothing at that time. Purchasing it outright wasn't an issue at that time, nor was it really an issue of "purchase" but rather one of keeping the equipment.
I should add that this is to the best of my recollection; the most recent device we got was a rollator and it was covered entirely by Medicare and probably our Medigap insurance carrier. We paid nothing out of pocket.
After the required amount of time lapsed, we still could use whatever device was, so we continued to do so. Generally, I don't recall having to pay anything to any of the DMEs.
However, there are time limits for some things. You inquired about COPD on another post. We got a nebulizer from Medicare, but when it went into hiding, we were unable to get another one because the requisite time hadn't elapsed. Medicare won't supply replacement devices within a certain time period. I don't know what the specific time limits are for various assistive devices.
I think your best bet is to ask the DME company that supplied the wheelchair; these folks generally know the Medicare rules pretty well.
BTW, if you don't already have the wheelchair, make sure you get the kind that has removable side supports so you can use a transfer board if you need to. When my sister needed one, I was just learning to navigate these kinds of issues and discovered the company had sent a wheelchair w/o removable side arms.
When I called and asked for a replacement chair, I was advised Medicare wouldn't pay for it. However, I've since learned that that particular company is one of the least reputable and cooperative ones.
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As to renting vs. buying, I'm just not following the issues, although it's been some time since we dealt with wheelchairs. Same issue with the nebulizer. I'm not understanding why you would buy one directly through Medicare. Must be something I'm missing in the situation.
Are you buying these outright, without prescriptions from doctors? If so, yes, you probably are going to pay more, especially with a DME. But I've really never heard of buying directly from Medicare. Is this being coordinated or recommended through a hospital, doctor's office, rehab facility, or did you make contact with the DME directly?
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The appropriate doctor scripted for it, his office contacted a DME, and that supplier brought the equipment. Since we have a Medigap C policy, we paid nothing at that time. Purchasing it outright wasn't an issue at that time, nor was it really an issue of "purchase" but rather one of keeping the equipment.
I should add that this is to the best of my recollection; the most recent device we got was a rollator and it was covered entirely by Medicare and probably our Medigap insurance carrier. We paid nothing out of pocket.
After the required amount of time lapsed, we still could use whatever device was, so we continued to do so. Generally, I don't recall having to pay anything to any of the DMEs.
However, there are time limits for some things. You inquired about COPD on another post. We got a nebulizer from Medicare, but when it went into hiding, we were unable to get another one because the requisite time hadn't elapsed. Medicare won't supply replacement devices within a certain time period. I don't know what the specific time limits are for various assistive devices.
I think your best bet is to ask the DME company that supplied the wheelchair; these folks generally know the Medicare rules pretty well.
BTW, if you don't already have the wheelchair, make sure you get the kind that has removable side supports so you can use a transfer board if you need to. When my sister needed one, I was just learning to navigate these kinds of issues and discovered the company had sent a wheelchair w/o removable side arms.
When I called and asked for a replacement chair, I was advised Medicare wouldn't pay for it. However, I've since learned that that particular company is one of the least reputable and cooperative ones.