3 ms·
Well, that's the interesting thing. You likely can import and use these wheelchairs, but they can't be sold as medical devices and, subsequently, won't be cove
by cogman10 3y ago
Well, that's the interesting thing. You likely can import and use these wheelchairs, but they can't be sold as medical devices and, subsequently, won't be covered by your insurance.
The dumb thing is these super cheap wheelchairs would likely cost the end users more money than the expensive ones as they will buy them out of pocket vs having their insurance/medicare cover most/all of the cost.
The reason these companies don't sell these wheelchairs in the US is likely because the marketing would run afowl of regulations about selling medical devices. You probably could sell these as bicycles and hobby chairs though.
- charrondev 3y agoI mean they could market similar to Not a Wheelchair I guess? https://notawheelchair.com/products/the-rig https://notawheelchair.com/products/the-rig
- Spivak 3y ago> they can't be sold as medical devices and, subsequently, won't be covered by your insurance. This is something I've never really understood. Wouldn't the insurance company be ever grateful to you if you accepted a non-medical wheelchair because it's 1/10th the cost. Hell, have 5! Is there any reason insurance can't pay for them?
- kazinator 3y agoNot if it's owned by the same private equity firm as the wheelchair guys; then it's just another face of the same racket. Also, medical insurance is supposed to cover bona fide medical treatments and supplies. So this likely bumps up against regulation again. If something goes wrong with the out-of-regulation device that insurance paid of as if it were a medical wheelchair (e.g. safety incident leading to injury), they could be liable. It's the same as why dental insurance won't pay for your next door neighbor handyman to pull out your tooth with a pair of pliers.