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Maybe I will get a new wheelchair. Maybe.
Oct. 3rd, 2024 01:32 pmBack in November of 2021, I posted about turning down a $24k custom wheelchair that the medical people prescribed, and buying $1500 consumer-grade power chair instead. This year I decided I needed to do better. So I shopped, and I have written about how that went. And I also reopened discussions with the medical people. My neurologist referred me to the Wheelchair Seating office at UofM. It takes many months to get in, and I finally had my appointment on August 9.
Having spent a couple years with the cheap chair, and tried those two other chairs this spring, I am a much more sophisticated wheelchair consumer than I was in 2021. I came to the appointment knowing what features I want, what is possible, and what is overkill. And I feel like I got good advice there.
First of all, easy portability is the hardest thing to get, and you will sacrifice every other feature in trying to get it. The portable chair will have terrible handling, terrible ergonomics, terrible range, terrible durability, etc. You really need two chairs but insurance will only buy one. Best to let insurance buy the chair with the features. So we focused on the non portable chair. I will keep shopping on my own for a portable.
With portability off the list, I told them I want a more comfortable/supportive seat, a swing away joystick, and an elevating seat. I don’t need power reclining but I would like some adjustability.
They decided that my seat discomfort is due to the seat being too short, front to back. They had some seats for me to test sit, and I believe they were correct. So my new chair will be the same width but several inches deeper. They agreed on the elevating seat and the swing away controls. It will allow me to reach the sink!
My diagnosis makes me eligible for a full custom Class 3 chair, but they agreed that everything I am looking for can be found in a less expensive Class 2 chair, so that’s what we would request.
This all seemed great and I came away impressed by the Wheelchair Seating office. Unfortunately what is not great, is the admin side of things. The admin has been a fricking nightmare. I don’t know if I will ever actually get the chair. Just asking for status is nigh impossible. When I call them, it takes ten or eleven calls before someone answers the phone without hanging up. The people who do answer are like “Oh, you have to talk to Jessica. She isn’t here. Call back later. Goodbye!” It is astoundingly unprofessional.
Anyways, two weeks ago I started complaining to UofM Patient Relations. This seems to have broken something loose. Today I got an email from my insurance company that they received the pre approval request yesterday and approved it today. You know it’s bad when the insurance company has better customer service than the doctors office.
Of course that means the ball is back in Wheelchair Seating’s court. How long will it take them to order it? How long till it gets to their office? And according to the tech people I saw back in August, the wheelchair has to be delivered to my home by someone who will confirm it is safe to use a wheelchair here. I wonder how many months it will take to get THAT appointment? I hope I still have the same insurance when it finally comes.
In the meantime I continue shopping for a portable chair on my own. I was going to wait until I get the prescription chair and know what my share of the cost is. But that could be a long wait.
Having spent a couple years with the cheap chair, and tried those two other chairs this spring, I am a much more sophisticated wheelchair consumer than I was in 2021. I came to the appointment knowing what features I want, what is possible, and what is overkill. And I feel like I got good advice there.
First of all, easy portability is the hardest thing to get, and you will sacrifice every other feature in trying to get it. The portable chair will have terrible handling, terrible ergonomics, terrible range, terrible durability, etc. You really need two chairs but insurance will only buy one. Best to let insurance buy the chair with the features. So we focused on the non portable chair. I will keep shopping on my own for a portable.
With portability off the list, I told them I want a more comfortable/supportive seat, a swing away joystick, and an elevating seat. I don’t need power reclining but I would like some adjustability.
They decided that my seat discomfort is due to the seat being too short, front to back. They had some seats for me to test sit, and I believe they were correct. So my new chair will be the same width but several inches deeper. They agreed on the elevating seat and the swing away controls. It will allow me to reach the sink!
My diagnosis makes me eligible for a full custom Class 3 chair, but they agreed that everything I am looking for can be found in a less expensive Class 2 chair, so that’s what we would request.
This all seemed great and I came away impressed by the Wheelchair Seating office. Unfortunately what is not great, is the admin side of things. The admin has been a fricking nightmare. I don’t know if I will ever actually get the chair. Just asking for status is nigh impossible. When I call them, it takes ten or eleven calls before someone answers the phone without hanging up. The people who do answer are like “Oh, you have to talk to Jessica. She isn’t here. Call back later. Goodbye!
Anyways, two weeks ago I started complaining to UofM Patient Relations. This seems to have broken something loose. Today I got an email from my insurance company that they received the pre approval request yesterday and approved it today. You know it’s bad when the insurance company has better customer service than the doctors office.
Of course that means the ball is back in Wheelchair Seating’s court. How long will it take them to order it? How long till it gets to their office? And according to the tech people I saw back in August, the wheelchair has to be delivered to my home by someone who will confirm it is safe to use a wheelchair here. I wonder how many months it will take to get THAT appointment? I hope I still have the same insurance when it finally comes.
In the meantime I continue shopping for a portable chair on my own. I was going to wait until I get the prescription chair and know what my share of the cost is. But that could be a long wait.
