Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 dave that is only one of the reasons that medicare is going to hell in a hand cart. I think everyone on this list alone can sight you countless ways the the providers are ripping off medicare. friends wayne medda care rip off I bought a acucheck with voice mate from D.S. medical advertised in the voice of the Diabetic. They quoted me a price of 600 dollars. but they charged Meddacare 1 thousand 300 and 72 dollars. I called and asked why. They said that was what medda care allows. I tried to call meddacare but they won't answer the day after an election. D. S. medicals bill was for durable medical equipment. but that charge was ridiculous. If Meddacare allows something like that, no wonder our medical service is in a big mess. Just surprised at the greed and the allowance of such. dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 dave that is only one of the reasons that medicare is going to hell in a hand cart. I think everyone on this list alone can sight you countless ways the the providers are ripping off medicare. friends wayne medda care rip off I bought a acucheck with voice mate from D.S. medical advertised in the voice of the Diabetic. They quoted me a price of 600 dollars. but they charged Meddacare 1 thousand 300 and 72 dollars. I called and asked why. They said that was what medda care allows. I tried to call meddacare but they won't answer the day after an election. D. S. medicals bill was for durable medical equipment. but that charge was ridiculous. If Meddacare allows something like that, no wonder our medical service is in a big mess. Just surprised at the greed and the allowance of such. dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 bill, Most of the State agencies have to get several bids on these expensive pieces of equipment...so I guess that means that all companies who sell these appliances are in cahoots? Re: medda care rip off I wish there was a way to make these various agencies wholly accountable for the excessive charges on handicapped equipment and services. The thinking is that most of the purchases will be through government agencies which are so mired with paperwork anyway that nobody takes the time to shop prices. Until this changes, we're going to continue to see this kind of disparity, whether it's with wheelchairs, diabetic equipment or CCTV equipment for the partially sighted. It galls me that year after year these companies cry " limited market " to justify their supreme prices, and at the same time charge even higher to rehab agencies as long as they can do it, and year after year nothing gets done to stop this abuse. If we ever see real change, more people WHO REALLY NEED these things will be able to afford them. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 bill, Most of the State agencies have to get several bids on these expensive pieces of equipment...so I guess that means that all companies who sell these appliances are in cahoots? Re: medda care rip off I wish there was a way to make these various agencies wholly accountable for the excessive charges on handicapped equipment and services. The thinking is that most of the purchases will be through government agencies which are so mired with paperwork anyway that nobody takes the time to shop prices. Until this changes, we're going to continue to see this kind of disparity, whether it's with wheelchairs, diabetic equipment or CCTV equipment for the partially sighted. It galls me that year after year these companies cry " limited market " to justify their supreme prices, and at the same time charge even higher to rehab agencies as long as they can do it, and year after year nothing gets done to stop this abuse. If we ever see real change, more people WHO REALLY NEED these things will be able to afford them. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 I'm going to throw another thing in this conversation. that is maybe if the senat and the house of represenitives were on social security see how fast it would be corrected. friends wayne Re: medda care rip off > > I wish there was a way to make these various agencies wholly accountable for > the excessive charges on handicapped equipment and services. The thinking is > that most of the purchases will be through government agencies which are so > mired with paperwork anyway that nobody takes the time to shop prices. Until > this changes, we're going to continue to see this kind of disparity, whether > it's with wheelchairs, diabetic equipment or CCTV equipment for the > partially sighted. It galls me that year after year these companies cry > " limited market " to justify their supreme prices, and at the same time > charge even higher to rehab agencies as long as they can do it, and year > after year nothing gets done to stop this abuse. If we ever see real change, > more people WHO REALLY NEED these things will be able to afford them. > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 I'm going to throw another thing in this conversation. that is maybe if the senat and the house of represenitives were on social security see how fast it would be corrected. friends wayne Re: medda care rip off > > I wish there was a way to make these various agencies wholly accountable for > the excessive charges on handicapped equipment and services. The thinking is > that most of the purchases will be through government agencies which are so > mired with paperwork anyway that nobody takes the time to shop prices. Until > this changes, we're going to continue to see this kind of disparity, whether > it's with wheelchairs, diabetic equipment or CCTV equipment for the > partially sighted. It galls me that year after year these companies cry > " limited market " to justify their supreme prices, and at the same time > charge even higher to rehab agencies as long as they can do it, and year > after year nothing gets done to stop this abuse. If we ever see real change, > more people WHO REALLY NEED these things will be able to afford them. > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 If the company charged Medi Care that much money, they are ripping off medi Care and they should be investigated. there is a number you can call on the Medi-Care web site to report fraud. Re: medda care rip off Dave, I didn't realize an Accuchek with Voice Mate was even 600 dollars, but for a firm to charge Medicare (M e d i c a r e ) almost fourteen hundred dollars is outlandish. You might want to bring this to the attention of a newspaper for public exposure, but also keep trying to reach Medicare concerning this issue. We often get denied benefits because of budget cuts, so this kind of gouging does not help matters. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 If the company charged Medi Care that much money, they are ripping off medi Care and they should be investigated. there is a number you can call on the Medi-Care web site to report fraud. Re: medda care rip off Dave, I didn't realize an Accuchek with Voice Mate was even 600 dollars, but for a firm to charge Medicare (M e d i c a r e ) almost fourteen hundred dollars is outlandish. You might want to bring this to the attention of a newspaper for public exposure, but also keep trying to reach Medicare concerning this issue. We often get denied benefits because of budget cuts, so this kind of gouging does not help matters. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 My Voicemate I purchased, well insurance purchased, 10-12 years ago was $900 even back then! I'll take the defense for Medicare just for fun and suggest that, like other limited market products, the apparent extreme cost just could be justified by r & d, otherwise known as research & developement. The trouble today is that we all live in a global consumer market, where a neat little electronic gadget can be had for $20 at Wal-mart only because 10 zillion of them were made, and cheap over-seas labor put them together. I pose the question, again remembering that I am acting as the defense for Medicare, just how much do you think that 20 dollar electronic gadget purchased at Wal-mart would have cost if not made in China and made in lot sizes in the millions? I would suggest 50, 100, no 200 dollars! So, should I knock on Medicare's door and ask for a job since I did such a dandy job of defending them! <smile> Dave medda care rip off I bought a acucheck with voice mate from D.S. medical advertised in the voice of the Diabetic. They quoted me a price of 600 dollars. but they charged Meddacare 1 thousand 300 and 72 dollars. I called and asked why. They said that was what medda care allows. I tried to call meddacare but they won't answer the day after an election. D. S. medicals bill was for durable medical equipment. but that charge was ridiculous. If Meddacare allows something like that, no wonder our medical service is in a big mess. Just surprised at the greed and the allowance of such. dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 My Voicemate I purchased, well insurance purchased, 10-12 years ago was $900 even back then! I'll take the defense for Medicare just for fun and suggest that, like other limited market products, the apparent extreme cost just could be justified by r & d, otherwise known as research & developement. The trouble today is that we all live in a global consumer market, where a neat little electronic gadget can be had for $20 at Wal-mart only because 10 zillion of them were made, and cheap over-seas labor put them together. I pose the question, again remembering that I am acting as the defense for Medicare, just how much do you think that 20 dollar electronic gadget purchased at Wal-mart would have cost if not made in China and made in lot sizes in the millions? I would suggest 50, 100, no 200 dollars! So, should I knock on Medicare's door and ask for a job since I did such a dandy job of defending them! <smile> Dave medda care rip off I bought a acucheck with voice mate from D.S. medical advertised in the voice of the Diabetic. They quoted me a price of 600 dollars. but they charged Meddacare 1 thousand 300 and 72 dollars. I called and asked why. They said that was what medda care allows. I tried to call meddacare but they won't answer the day after an election. D. S. medicals bill was for durable medical equipment. but that charge was ridiculous. If Meddacare allows something like that, no wonder our medical service is in a big mess. Just surprised at the greed and the allowance of such. dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 Amen Friend Wayne!!!!! Cy, the Ancient One... Re: medda care rip off I'm going to throw another thing in this conversation. that is maybe if the senat and the house of represenitives were on social security see how fast it would be corrected. friends wayne Re: medda care rip off > > I wish there was a way to make these various agencies wholly > accountable for > the excessive charges on handicapped equipment and services. The > thinking is > that most of the purchases will be through government agencies which > are so > mired with paperwork anyway that nobody takes the time to shop prices. Until > this changes, we're going to continue to see this kind of disparity, whether > it's with wheelchairs, diabetic equipment or CCTV equipment for the > partially sighted. It galls me that year after year these companies > cry " limited market " to justify their supreme prices, and at the same > time charge even higher to rehab agencies as long as they can do it, > and year after year nothing gets done to stop this abuse. If we ever > see real change, > more people WHO REALLY NEED these things will be able to afford them. > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 Amen Friend Wayne!!!!! Cy, the Ancient One... Re: medda care rip off I'm going to throw another thing in this conversation. that is maybe if the senat and the house of represenitives were on social security see how fast it would be corrected. friends wayne Re: medda care rip off > > I wish there was a way to make these various agencies wholly > accountable for > the excessive charges on handicapped equipment and services. The > thinking is > that most of the purchases will be through government agencies which > are so > mired with paperwork anyway that nobody takes the time to shop prices. Until > this changes, we're going to continue to see this kind of disparity, whether > it's with wheelchairs, diabetic equipment or CCTV equipment for the > partially sighted. It galls me that year after year these companies > cry " limited market " to justify their supreme prices, and at the same > time charge even higher to rehab agencies as long as they can do it, > and year after year nothing gets done to stop this abuse. If we ever > see real change, > more people WHO REALLY NEED these things will be able to afford them. > > Bill > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 But this is not a new problem keep in mind. My Voicemate was nearly $1000 over 10 years ago! Is it probable that this level of fraud could go on un-answered? Well, I'm not necessarily defending Medicare, but I suppose I would like to be able to say I am part of a country and a system that works better than the dialogue in this discussion suggests. Put another way, and to make you think, is it possible that these prices could be justified? Dave Re: medda care rip off Dave, I didn't realize an Accuchek with Voice Mate was even 600 dollars, but for a firm to charge Medicare (M e d i c a r e ) almost fourteen hundred dollars is outlandish. You might want to bring this to the attention of a newspaper for public exposure, but also keep trying to reach Medicare concerning this issue. We often get denied benefits because of budget cuts, so this kind of gouging does not help matters. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 But this is not a new problem keep in mind. My Voicemate was nearly $1000 over 10 years ago! Is it probable that this level of fraud could go on un-answered? Well, I'm not necessarily defending Medicare, but I suppose I would like to be able to say I am part of a country and a system that works better than the dialogue in this discussion suggests. Put another way, and to make you think, is it possible that these prices could be justified? Dave Re: medda care rip off Dave, I didn't realize an Accuchek with Voice Mate was even 600 dollars, but for a firm to charge Medicare (M e d i c a r e ) almost fourteen hundred dollars is outlandish. You might want to bring this to the attention of a newspaper for public exposure, but also keep trying to reach Medicare concerning this issue. We often get denied benefits because of budget cuts, so this kind of gouging does not help matters. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 Dave, If i wanted to buy it without medicare, I could buy it for 470 dollars at the NFb materials store. Now they are making a profit, so the ds medical profit must be some where around 2 to 300 percent. It is a company that is ripping off medicare. and maybe it isn't directly out of my pocket, but it comes from my 4 sons paycheck. and it comes from the 17 percent that increased everyone's medicare payment this year. D. S. medical says they sell over 55 thousands products. How much of a money cow is medicare for them. I'll would almost bet that over half of their income comes from excess medicare charges. and that is for any product not just the ones for the blind. so defend medicare but the culprit is the companies like D.S. medical. and I don't care to fatten their profits with medicare and my private insurance. Dave + On Wed, 3 Nov 2004, Dave Bond wrote: > But this is not a new problem keep in mind. My Voicemate was nearly > $1000 over 10 years ago! Is it probable that this level of fraud could > go on un-answered? Well, I'm not necessarily defending Medicare, but I > suppose I would like to be able to say I am part of a country and a > system that works better than the dialogue in this discussion suggests. > Put another way, and to make you think, is it possible that these prices > could be justified? > > Dave > > Re: medda care rip off > > > > Dave, > > I didn't realize an Accuchek with Voice Mate was even 600 dollars, but > for > a firm to charge Medicare (M e d i c a r e ) almost fourteen hundred > dollars > is outlandish. You might want to bring this to the attention of a > newspaper > for public exposure, but also keep trying to reach Medicare concerning > this > issue. We often get denied benefits because of budget cuts, so this > kind of > gouging does not help matters. > > Bill Powers > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 Dave, If i wanted to buy it without medicare, I could buy it for 470 dollars at the NFb materials store. Now they are making a profit, so the ds medical profit must be some where around 2 to 300 percent. It is a company that is ripping off medicare. and maybe it isn't directly out of my pocket, but it comes from my 4 sons paycheck. and it comes from the 17 percent that increased everyone's medicare payment this year. D. S. medical says they sell over 55 thousands products. How much of a money cow is medicare for them. I'll would almost bet that over half of their income comes from excess medicare charges. and that is for any product not just the ones for the blind. so defend medicare but the culprit is the companies like D.S. medical. and I don't care to fatten their profits with medicare and my private insurance. Dave + On Wed, 3 Nov 2004, Dave Bond wrote: > But this is not a new problem keep in mind. My Voicemate was nearly > $1000 over 10 years ago! Is it probable that this level of fraud could > go on un-answered? Well, I'm not necessarily defending Medicare, but I > suppose I would like to be able to say I am part of a country and a > system that works better than the dialogue in this discussion suggests. > Put another way, and to make you think, is it possible that these prices > could be justified? > > Dave > > Re: medda care rip off > > > > Dave, > > I didn't realize an Accuchek with Voice Mate was even 600 dollars, but > for > a firm to charge Medicare (M e d i c a r e ) almost fourteen hundred > dollars > is outlandish. You might want to bring this to the attention of a > newspaper > for public exposure, but also keep trying to reach Medicare concerning > this > issue. We often get denied benefits because of budget cuts, so this > kind of > gouging does not help matters. > > Bill Powers > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 not really, their providers oout there that have seen a way to make lots of mony from the medicare and medicade programs and thay take the government across in every way possible and impossable this is what also drives the costs up. friends wayne Re: medda care rip off Dave, I didn't realize an Accuchek with Voice Mate was even 600 dollars, but for a firm to charge Medicare (M e d i c a r e ) almost fourteen hundred dollars is outlandish. You might want to bring this to the attention of a newspaper for public exposure, but also keep trying to reach Medicare concerning this issue. We often get denied benefits because of budget cuts, so this kind of gouging does not help matters. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 Dave, The culprits are both DS Medical and Medicare: DS for the initial gouging at taxpayers' expense, and Medicare for not checking toe prevailing consumer price against what they're being charged by this company. They both need to change strategies to curtail the ripoffs. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 Dave, The culprits are both DS Medical and Medicare: DS for the initial gouging at taxpayers' expense, and Medicare for not checking toe prevailing consumer price against what they're being charged by this company. They both need to change strategies to curtail the ripoffs. Bill Powers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 5, 2004 Report Share Posted November 5, 2004 Hi Pat, I have been somewhat busy of late but I did intend to add ot this thread. Long time ago when I was selling Apollo Laser CCTV systems we could get around the bidding process or at least limit it to about only 1 company by the way we rote the specs. We would describe some feature which only the Apollo had and the Visualtek did not. This would eliminate the possibility of losing the bid. Cy, the Ancient One... Re: medda care rip off I wish there was a way to make these various agencies wholly accountable for the excessive charges on handicapped equipment and services. The thinking is that most of the purchases will be through government agencies which are so mired with paperwork anyway that nobody takes the time to shop prices. Until this changes, we're going to continue to see this kind of disparity, whether it's with wheelchairs, diabetic equipment or CCTV equipment for the partially sighted. It galls me that year after year these companies cry " limited market " to justify their supreme prices, and at the same time charge even higher to rehab agencies as long as they can do it, and year after year nothing gets done to stop this abuse. If we ever see real change, more people WHO REALLY NEED these things will be able to afford them. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 In CA, if there is a product that is the only one available, it is considered a " single vendor " only. It then has to go to be approved by the State Dept. of Finance. It takes as long as 2 elephant pregnancies to get something like that approved! I don't know how that works in other states, but it is dreadful in CA. Re: medda care rip off I wish there was a way to make these various agencies wholly accountable for the excessive charges on handicapped equipment and services. The thinking is that most of the purchases will be through government agencies which are so mired with paperwork anyway that nobody takes the time to shop prices. Until this changes, we're going to continue to see this kind of disparity, whether it's with wheelchairs, diabetic equipment or CCTV equipment for the partially sighted. It galls me that year after year these companies cry " limited market " to justify their supreme prices, and at the same time charge even higher to rehab agencies as long as they can do it, and year after year nothing gets done to stop this abuse. If we ever see real change, more people WHO REALLY NEED these things will be able to afford them. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2004 Report Share Posted November 6, 2004 In CA, if there is a product that is the only one available, it is considered a " single vendor " only. It then has to go to be approved by the State Dept. of Finance. It takes as long as 2 elephant pregnancies to get something like that approved! I don't know how that works in other states, but it is dreadful in CA. Re: medda care rip off I wish there was a way to make these various agencies wholly accountable for the excessive charges on handicapped equipment and services. The thinking is that most of the purchases will be through government agencies which are so mired with paperwork anyway that nobody takes the time to shop prices. Until this changes, we're going to continue to see this kind of disparity, whether it's with wheelchairs, diabetic equipment or CCTV equipment for the partially sighted. It galls me that year after year these companies cry " limited market " to justify their supreme prices, and at the same time charge even higher to rehab agencies as long as they can do it, and year after year nothing gets done to stop this abuse. If we ever see real change, more people WHO REALLY NEED these things will be able to afford them. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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