It has been a while since I have written, but that does not mean nothing has been happening. To recap what was going on the last time I wrote, Redman, the company from which I purchased my power chair, claimed that my insurance did not pay them the complete amount that my chair was worth. Since then, I have been told by my insurance company that they did pay what they said they would. I was told that it had to do with Redman being out of network.
To my understanding (per Redman's information), Redman was considered in network. When any company is in network with an insurance company, the insurance company has to pay one price; however, when a company is out of network with the insurance company, the insurance company can pay a completely different price -- usually lower or not at all -- than if the said company was in network. Upon receiving the information that Redman was considered out of network with my insurance, I filed an appeal to my insurance company to pay the price Redman desires. That appeal has been denied, and I am now in the process of filing a second appeal.
So who is telling the truth? I have no idea. I do not know who or what to believe. All I know is that the cost of my power chair could still fall on my shoulders, that me continuing to have my power chair continues to be in jeopardy. This also indicates that my insurance does not really care about the wellbeing of their members, and Redman is not so different from other companies that sell wheelchairs after all.
To anyone purchasing a wheelchair (or any piece of medical equipment) through an insurance company, make sure you know the wheelchair supplier is in network with your insurance. It will be one less headache that you will have to deal with during this crazy process. This means you cannot take the medical supply company at their word, you must talk with your insurance company as well. I trusted the supplier, like I had the four times I purchased a power chair before, and for that I was stung.
Just once, I would love to be able to order a chair hassle free, receive my chair in a timely manner, have it be exactly what I ordered, and then not have to worry about anything post delivery (minus the upkeep). Just once. That's all I ask.
