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soonerwife

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Joined
Mar 16, 2016
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1,571
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Lost a loved one
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10/2015
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OK
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Cleveland
So, today I finally found out that the pre-authorization has been approved by UHC. I have been working on getting the pwc since January 2nd...

They did not approve the standing feature of the F5, but they approved the Permobil F3.

There are a few things that they did not approve that I want to get opinions about their importance so I can determine what I should pay out of pocket for? I am also including my cost of these items.

Power Adjustable Seat Height 14" Travel - $1500
LED Light Kit - $1077.30
Attendant Control RNet Corpus 3G - $1198.80
RAM X-Grip Phone Holder - $74.70
Push Handles Corpus - $383.4
 
My comments:

Power Adjustable Seat Height 14" Travel - $1500 -- worth it if he can still stand and/or reach, otherwise, not unless being at the height of others is very important psychologically or elevation has a logistical value in your home or a frequent destination

LED Light Kit - $1077.30 -- not unless you drive a lot in darkness. there are $70 lights that plug into the charger port, or portable stick-on lights

Attendant Control RNet Corpus 3G - $1198.80 -- is he going to be driving the chair for now? if so, you can move the joystick to the back or side wherever convenient for you to drive when the time comes. If he's not driving now, have it moved wherever works for you now. So not worth it to buy an extra joystick now, which is all this is.

RAM X-Grip Phone Holder - $74.70 -- does he use a phone? did you try this to see if it would work? There are a lot of mounts so at least this is not too pricey.

Push Handles Corpus - $383.4-- this is only for freewheeling (pushing the chair without power), which no sane person should have to do
 
The only two items we paid for were the seat elevation and transfer handles on my PALS Permobil K/C 300, none of the other options were mentioned to us and we had zero knowledge of wheelchairs. I would not buy the transfer handles again as they were useless, they had to be kept too low to ever be used for transferring because the joy stick control sat right above the right handle. I would definitely buy the seat elevation again because we used it all the time...positioning at a table, getting in and out of wc van, transferring to name a few. Sorry I can't help with the other options. Believe it or not Laurie, we did do freewheeling when my husband could still walk and do believe I would be diagnosed as sane. As my husband has been on a ventilator from day one and it is attached to his wheelchair, we needed to follow him with the wheelchair and vent, as the controller was too quick for how slow he walked.
 
Unfortunate that you are left with these decisions. The Occupational Therapist who did the home assessment and completed the wheelchair application to insurance, stated that she knew the key phrases needed to get all of the bells and whistles approved. My wheelchair has tilt in space, elevation, recline, leg elevation and seat back anti shear, and rear attendant controller.
FYI to PALS, choose a knowledgeable OT for that all important wheelchair assessment.
 
I acquired a Permobil C500s VS a little over 2 years ago via United Healthcare insurance.

That model has been replaced in Permobil's lineup with the F5 VS.

My wheelchair has the standing feature (that is what the VS means), seat elevate, push handles, light kit, and a set of snow tires (in addition to the regular tires). It also came with lateral thigh supports (which I use like transfer handles), lateral hip supports, lateral thoracic supports, arm keepers (bits that bolt onto the side of the armrest to keep my arm from falling off), headrest, and a cup holder.

It did not come with transfer handles, but I acquired a used set of those along the way.

My United Healthcare insurance paid for everything on my wheelchair except the seat elevate and the cupholder. I would have cancelled the cup holder, but it would have meant starting the order all over again. Policies differ, so what mine covered might not be covered under your policy. But, it is worth pushing for.

The DME provider worked with me on the price of the seat elevate capability. I think it cost me about $1,200.

Here is how I rate things:

1. Seat elevate - essential for my lifestyle. Very much worth the money I spent
2. Standing feature - useful for me, as I get very tight achilles. It makes it a breeze to get in and out of the chair. It also helps me be at eye level when talking to folks. I definitely want that on my next chair.
3. Lighting kit - essential for my lifestyle. I am often out near or after dark. It is surprising how often we load and unload the wheelchair after dark. I would not want to do that without lights. My backup wheelchair (Permobil C500 Corpus 3G) does not have lights. I bought a bicycle headlight and taillight set for less than 30 dollars and found a place to mount them on the backup wheelchair. Not perfect, but probably good enough for most folks.
4. Transfer handle - I use this on my backup wheelchair. The lateral side support suffices on my primary wheelchair. I need something to help transfer, but either of these work for me.
5. Push handles - Useful for when I get myself stuck and there is someone strong to help get me unstuck. I wanted to remove them so I could put a larger backpack on the wheelchair. My wife said NO WAY (very emphatically;)).
6. Lateral thigh support - Essential for me
7. Lateral hip supports - I don't use them
8. Lateral thoracic supports - Absolutely essential for me. I could not use a wheelchair that does not have these.
9. Arm Keepers - I did not use these for the first year. I now use one for my right arm and it makes an amazing difference.
10. Headrest - Absolutely essential for me. The one that came with the wheelchair did not work well enough for me. Insurance bought me a Stealth which works much better (though is still not perfect). Oddly enough, the permobil headrest does a good job for me on the Corpus 3G seat on my backup wheelchair.
11. Snow tires - Quite valuable to me. They are not just for snow. The silly foam-filled indoor tires that come standard will slip on any remotely slick surface (sand, gravel, wet asphalt, grass, and, yes, snow. The pneumatic snow tires are so much better on these various slick surfaces. I have really enjoyed having them. I have put about 1700 miles on the regular tires and 100 miles on the snow tires.
12. Cup Holder - I have never used it.
13. Seatbelt - I did not use it for the first 2 years, but recently installed it. It is very nice to have the security it provides. It really does help prevent me from sliding down in the wheelchair.

Many of the accessories can be purchased for a fraction of their list price when purchased used off of ebay. For example, I recently saw a set of lateral thigh supports on ebay for about $50.

As another example, the power leg rest actuator had failed on the used wheelchair I bought as a backup and the leg rest had been converted back to manual. A new legrest actuator cost about $1,400. I was able to find a used one on ebay for $120. It was plug and play and took my friend and me about 15 minutes to install. It took some research to find the right one, but I sure saved a lot of money.

As a final note, I vastly prefer the F5 over the F3. The F3 is too tippy for my tastes and has a much shorter range. The difference in stability between the F5 and F3 is even larger than between the C500 and C300 (the previous models).

Steve
 
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I would be in trouble if I did not have the elevation. I can no longer take a bath in our bathtub, and I can no longer take a shower. The elevation on my pwc allows me to get high enough to get my hair washed by my caregiver. It has been a very important feature for me. I was told I would be charge $1000 for the elevation feature, but I have yet to be billed.

Hugs,
Deb
 
Kate, the sensitivity/speed can be adjusted in the controller. I would have demanded that. Not questioning your sanity, just trying to save future backs!

Also, if the only reason for following in the chair was the vent, which is not that heavy, I would consider a rolling stand.
 
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I have a M300. Just my thoughts on a couple of the items

I would highly recommend the power adjustable seat height. We added it later and it cost a little more to do it later then if ordered originally. I use it a lot at restaurants to sit at high top tables. It is also nice to be able to elevate in many situations.

Regarding the RAM phone holder. I have one and love it. I also have the USB module. It allows me to charge my phone and use the iPhone Siri function, since my phone needs to be on a charger to access Siri. I think on the new iPhones, the phone does not need to be plugged in to voice activate Siri.

It is unfortunate you could not get insurance to pay for the attendant control. I could drive short distances and use my controls, currently using a head array, to adjust my seating position, but somebody drives me from the attendant controls wen out and about.
 
If anyone wants to post a pic of the RAM or other phone holder in use, that would be helpful for those with hand function or who want to use voice-driven apps, who are ordering wheelchairs.
 
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You might check with the ALS Association. I've heard that they can petition the National ALSA for a certificate to cover the seat elevation. The wheelchair manufacturer might also cover some of the expense. I would ask your DME provider if they or the manufacturer can cover some of those costs. We had the entire cost of that feature covered when I got my Quantum Q6 Edge 2.0.
 
I am unable to get a good picture of my setup. I cannot use my hands so it is nice for me to have the phone mounted on the chair so I can use Siri.

There is a picture on the Permobil website, accessories page.

https://permobilus.com/product/ram-x-gripphone-holder/

or for more RAM products;

RAM X-Grip® for Phones and Tablets

The RAM mount piece parts are available on Amazon, just enter RAM mount in the search bar. I don't know where to find the bracket that attaches to the wheelchair.
 
Thanks for the info guys. I did submit an application this morning thru ALS Foundation for Life for a grant. Not sure if we will qualify or not?
 
Ask your DME to ask your local Permobil rep (if you have not met him/her) about covering the seat elevator cost, which they frequently do in ALS.
 
This has been a good thread for me regarding things to think about. I get fitted for a wheelchair at the VA on the 19th and really had no clue what questions I should be asking or what I should be requesting.

Regards,
Bruce
 
I ordered a metal basket that holds my trilogy off the Internet. Couldn't do without it. Love it.

Vince
 
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