[mitchntx]

The wife has a breathing problem where as she sleeps her esophagus relaxes too much and collapses when she exhales. It doesn't close completely, but it slows her breathing to a point where her blood/Ox level was down to around 80!

The short term fix is an Oxygen concentrator so that what air she does get is more pure.

Insurance company would pay 80% of a rental after our $1000 deductible was met. After the deductible, our 20% liability was almost $30. They wouldn't cover the cost of a purchase. WTF!

So, I found several sources of these units, both new and used. Purchase price is anywhere from $250 (used with a 1 year warranty) to new at $850. I bought a 6 month old unit for $300 with 3.5 years of the manufacturer's warranty still in place.

I argued with supervisors and managers about them covering the cost of purchase and even submitted an appeal which was denied. They said that they don't cover purchase of major equipment, only rental. I don't understand the thought process.

[mitchntx]

Let's see, 150/month x 13 months equals $1950. I can buy 6 of these things over a year's time.

If the machine was life supporting then I can see having a machine available that would work regardless of cost. But my wife's condition is not that dire. If the machine conks out, we send it in for repair or scour craig's list for another. In the mean time, we can get a prescription for a rental unit in the interim.

[marka]

Howdy,

Let's see, 150/month x 13 months equals $1950. I can buy 6 of these things over a year's time.

If the machine was life supporting then I can see having a machine available that would work regardless of cost. But my wife's condition is not that dire. If the machine conks out, we send it in for repair or scour craig's list for another. In the mean time, we can get a prescription for a rental unit in the interim.

The insurance company is not worried about saving money, they're worried about limiting cost.

I.e. they'd rather pay more for a rental unit because its a fixed monthly cost that never changes and is hard for you to game so that you scam them for money.

In comparison, them reimbursing you for equipment that you own is much more problematic. Machines break and need to be repaired or replaced, particularly used machines. So you buy one, get reimbursed, and it breaks two months later. So you buy another, etc. Meanwhile, did it _really_ break or did you just sell the old one? How many should they replace before they cut you off? Guaranteed that whatever # you pick, some grandmother will trip the policy and be in the paper the next day about how the insurance company is a big bunch of fuckers that are out to get her.

In a lot of ways its the same reasons why some people lease cars rather than owning them. Just like that, its a lot more about predictibilty of costs rather than lower costs.

Mark