The headlines are full of stories about Iraqi vets who are undergoing serious delays in receiving treatment or care because of paperwork glitches and other problems in the system. It's a disgrace. No doubt about it.
Those of us with disabilities are all too familiar with these issues.
Two of my close friends have been denied requests for wheelchairs although neither one can walk. They received insurance denial letters basically stating they could get a $300 30 plus pound wheelchair (which neither can push), but may not receive a lightweight wheelchair, which is the kind they have used for many years.
Our first reponse to this was that perhaps insurance companies did not want to pay for titanium wheelchairs as opposed to aluminum ones. But even requests for aluminum ones are being denied.
One friend resubmitted her request with a letter from a doctor stating she needed the wheelchair. Not only was her request denied but she received several other letters denying it. She's unsure if the medical provider also resubmitted the request- perhaps out of shock after measuring her for the chair and seeing the extent of her disability.
Meanwhile her wheelchair is now over five years old. It creaks and squeaks. It no longer fits her. She is in it all day and, quite frankly, it's a hazard waiting to happen - a screw falling off, etc. And it's not as if she has thousands of dollars sitting around to just order a new wheelchair. Due to the extremely high markup on some wheelchairs (up to 400 per cent - they use bike parts), very few people can afford to buy their own.
The paper chase continues.
Nor is this a new situation. I've heard story after story from people with disabilities over the years about long waiting periods for care and equipment.
So when our response to the current headlines is "We knew that", it's not that we think vets should have to wait and endure these delays.
We don't think anyone with a disability should have to live like that.
2 comments:
I'm a vet. See my comment at tip of the iceberg. I agree. No one should be treated like this.
It's horrible that they deny people wheelchairs. Those clunky ones are no good if you want togo anhywhere. They need to reduce prices on them if we have to buy them ourselves and better qualitywould help. Mine don't last five years but that's what they say it will.
Post a Comment