What possible sense could this make? Anyone who has used a
vent for any length of time knows the monthly rent on a vent is
exorbitant. It is much cheaper, in the long run, to spend the
$10,000 or so to buy a vent outright because for most of us it is
a permanent fixture in our lives. A vent is rarely an item that
is only needed a short time.
In my case, I have been on a vent since 1982. Some other
members of this board have been vent-dependent longer than that.
At that time, MediCal, our state health care system here in CA,
prudently decided to buy my ventilators because the monthly rent
then was $450/month. Having two vents, one for bed, the other
mounted on my wheelchair, the cost would have been $900/month. I
am sure the rent would be much higher now. Purchasing vents
instead of renting them makes even more sense these days. Why
can't the idiotic bureaucrats running <?> MediCare see that?
Sometime this coming year, because of the impending
obsolescence of the LP6, I will be forced to get new vents. It
looks like I will no longer be able to own them. This waste of
Medicare funds, especially in these times of the impending
collapse of this vital system so many of us depend on, really
galls me!
I think we vent-users need to get more active, in advocating
for our needs. We need to write our legislators and adamantly
make them aware of this gross waste and demand they do something
to change things. Let's see how serious they really are about
improving the system and cutting waste. Lord knows, they sure
talk about it enough!
Blane Beckwith
Northern CA ADAPT