Forgive me for being judgmental for a moment. Maybe it’s because I’m still limping along in my post-surgery walking boot, but this article in my local newspaper caught my attention. I’ll wait while you give it a read.
I see so many problems with this.
Our nation is full of marketing victims. I try to be a discerning consumer, especially when it comes to healthcare. I don’t see a commercial about the “purple pill” and immediately call my doctor demanding a prescription. Do able-bodied people really watch these ads and decide they need scooters for convenient transportation? Really?
There may be physicians who enable the marketing victims. I don’t know about you, but my doc and I have intentional discussions before I walk out of her office with a prescription. If I can fight the infection without an antibiotic, I tough it out for a few days. Who are these physicians who write the orders so that their patients who don’t meet the criteria can have scooters…scooters that are paid for by insurance dollars? As far as I’m concerned, these physicians and their patients are stealing from Medicare, a program paid for in part by my taxes…and your taxes.
The folks at Medicare have taken their eyes off the ball. According to the article, eighty percent of Medicare-provided scooters are going to patients who do not meet the criteria to have them. Are you kidding me? I spent 15 years working for a hospice program. I can tell you story after story about dedicated case managers who pleaded with insurance companies to pay for medically necessary pain protocols for terminally ill patients. And here we have Medicare handing out scooters to people who don’t qualify to have them. That’s. Just. Wrong.
Don’t misunderstand me. I want people who need these devices to have them. And for those who want but don’t need them, if they can afford to buy one out of pocket they can knock themselves out and and scooter their way across this great country of ours. Just don’t expect the rest of us to foot the bill.
What say you? I’m I on point or am I heartless?
482gr8 
You’re not the only one. I totally agree that these ads promote taking advantage of insurance policies (at others’ expense) as well as premature immobility. I’m a staunch liberal, but these ads go too far. They actually make me feel like a republican. That’s saying something.