- Joined
- Nov 18, 2014
- Messages
- 4,873
- Reason
- PALS
- Diagnosis
- 08/2015
- Country
- US
- State
- South
- City
- The Beach
If you have Medicare and Supplement F or G, you can get everything except the standing feature 100% paid. Some people didn't get the seat elevation paid but those of us who did got our doctors to write the elevator function was medically necessary and took that letter to the providers. Permobil ended up paying for my seat elevation function. I didn't get the standing function and, if you want it, you'll have to pay for it.
I got my chair very early because I sprained my ankle and nobody thought it would heal. They brought both the Quantum and Permobil to my home and I tested both. Ended up liking the Permobil better because it didn't jerk me around. After I knew I wanted the Permobil, I called Permobil and asked the representative to come over with all her seat options. My doctor wrote on my letter that I had fibromyalgia and needed extra padding on the armrests, etc. I got to test about a half dozen different seats and she let me take my time. She also brought a couple of arm padding samples.
If you have Medicare with private insurance secondary, you may be surprised at what they'll pay for. It just depends on your insurance. I know of at least one PALS who got the stand up function paid for by his private insurance, even though Medicare doesn't cover it.
One caveat: Beware of provider markups and incentives to sell one model or make over another. I had that trouble with my provider. They were dead set on my getting a Quantum and I didn't like it. I did some investigation and found out that there were dealer incentives on the Quantum and their profit margin would be higher.
If you buy a van, same deal. Don't even consider paying close to sticker.
I got my chair very early because I sprained my ankle and nobody thought it would heal. They brought both the Quantum and Permobil to my home and I tested both. Ended up liking the Permobil better because it didn't jerk me around. After I knew I wanted the Permobil, I called Permobil and asked the representative to come over with all her seat options. My doctor wrote on my letter that I had fibromyalgia and needed extra padding on the armrests, etc. I got to test about a half dozen different seats and she let me take my time. She also brought a couple of arm padding samples.
If you have Medicare with private insurance secondary, you may be surprised at what they'll pay for. It just depends on your insurance. I know of at least one PALS who got the stand up function paid for by his private insurance, even though Medicare doesn't cover it.
One caveat: Beware of provider markups and incentives to sell one model or make over another. I had that trouble with my provider. They were dead set on my getting a Quantum and I didn't like it. I did some investigation and found out that there were dealer incentives on the Quantum and their profit margin would be higher.
If you buy a van, same deal. Don't even consider paying close to sticker.