Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Wacky Way to Order Medical Supplies

I just ordered a pair of hearing aids for eleven thousand dollars.

Your hearing is all right... I really said it... eleven thousand dollars.

They're really nice.  They are adjusted to your personal hearing loss in discrete steps. They discriminate noise from speech, and cancel the noise. They are tiny sub-miniature devices that fit behind the ear. They make understanding speech easier.  They are costly.

But not as costly as stated.  According to AOL you could buy TWO NEW CARS (In India) for that price. The wacky way is works is this.

The hearing aid dealer bills my health insurance co the $11,000.  They naturally say "Whoa, That is ridiculous. They are only worth HALF of that..."

"Furthermore  we pay only 80% of the cost."  So, if they agree, they send the dealer a purchase order for whatever 80% of half of $11,000 is. 

Then the dealer discounts the price by 20%, and I end up paying only for the ear molds... $250. 

Wacky?  I love it.... if it works.   Stay tuned.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh boy.... isn't it scary how that works. what a mark up. wonderr what people without insurance of any kind would do.... what a shame. I hope you get them and they are perfect for you. thats almost as much as we paid for our first house.
Sandra

Anonymous said...

can't comment

Anonymous said...

Too bad you're not a refugee from a third world country-they'd probably be free and they'd throw in a pair of slightly used dentures,LOL...
don't ya just love it?
~c~

Anonymous said...

Too bad you're not a refugee from a third world country-they'd probably be free and they'd throw in a pair of slightly used dentures,LOL...
don't ya just love it?
~c~

Anonymous said...

I hope they work out for you. Do you not have to have a Dr's prescription for things like that in order for medicare to pay anything? Or you might have one as for as I know. Helen

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry Chuck. You never stated that medicare was your insurance carrier. I just assumed that. Again I'm sorry about that. Helen

Anonymous said...

Sure wish John would get some of these. He always repeats what I say with a word that rhymes. It gets comical around here sometime. Paula

Anonymous said...

good luck:)

Deb

Anonymous said...

Yeo, I have to see many sppecialists for my medical conditions.  They sent Medicare bills that are marked up, get thier money from Medicare and say to me, "Don't worry about the remainder, the doctor will eat the remainder".  Gee, what a guy!

Bethe

Anonymous said...

Good morning Chuck, I can’t wait to find out how these hearing devises work. I need one bad my hearing is kind of like Paula said Johns was. Have a nice day

Anonymous said...

Oh, I hope you enjoy them, Chuck!  They must be NICE!  My dad got a hearing aid for one ear, I think it was, and just couldn't adjust to it.  He heard too well.  He has had hearing loss since he was a small child.  He is about your age now.  Good luck and I will stay tuned!  Happy Valentine's Day to ya!  Love, Val xox
http://journals.aol.com/valphish/ThereisaSeason