Laura
07-30-2008, 02:42 PM
from Newsday.com:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/nassau/ny-liwhee295781091jul29,0,2277754.story
Wheelchair firm's decision troubles disabled LIers
BY PATRICK WHITTLE
Linda Lemmerman waited five months -- her son Brandon's wheelchair held
together with ACE bandages and a bungee cord -- before she found out that
the company she had hired to fix his wheelchair was getting out of the
business.
Lemmerman, a Ridge resident whose 17-year-old son has cerebral palsy, is
among dozens of Long Islanders whose life has been disrupted by a Bethpage
firm's decision to stop assembling, selling and repairing custom
wheelchairs.
That company, Home Care Supply, is shutting down that part of its operation,
said a spokeswoman for the company's parent firm, Praxair.
That leaves disabled people and their families with the prospect of waiting
another several months to get new, customized wheelchairs ordered from other
companies. That process includes a series of meetings with doctors and
approvals from insurance companies.
Two legislators from Long Island have raised questions about whether the
state needs stricter rules on the time it takes insurers and companies to
provide the customized wheelchairs, which are the only way many handicapped
people can move independently.
"These are his legs," Lemmerman said of her son's dependence on his
wheelchair.
Home Care Supply, which was bought by Praxair in 2004, is getting out of
customized wheelchairs because of declining reimbursements from governments
even as the cost of building the chairs is rising, said Susan Szita-Gore,
the Praxair spokeswoman.
The company stopped taking orders for new chairs in April and will be out of
that business by Oct. 1, but will continue repairing wheelchairs that are
under warranty, she said.
Szita-Gore said Home Care Supply had contacted customers by phone to tell
them of the decision to stop selling and fixing chairs. The company is also
working with families to find other firms that sell customized wheelchairs,
she said. She said she could not provide the number of customers who are
affected.
But Lemmerman and several other parents of children at the Henry Viscardi
School for physically disabled students in Albertson, said they were never
notified.
Cathy Buckley, whose son Thomas, 15, also has cerebral palsy, said word
spread through the school of Home Care Supply's exit from the business. She
said the process of purchasing a custom wheelchair requires a specialist to
take measurements of the user; insurers to approve specifications for the
chair; and assembly of the chair.
A custom-built chair can cost more than $20,000, Buckley said, adding that
many families rely on insurance to pay for them.
"We lost months," she said, and we had to start all over again and find a
new vendor."
The news sent many in search of other vendors. Gloria Walters, 57, of
Flushing, who has used a wheelchair since she was a child, said she doesn't
know where to turn for repairs to her 13-year-old chair.
"I don't know who I can use because they are closing down," she said.
The bureaucratic process of getting a customized wheelchair approved by an
insurance company is in part responsible for the predicament, said state
Sen. Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington). That can take as long as nine
months, he said, and Home Care Supply's decision came as many people were
waiting for that approval.
Johnson and Assemb. Tom Alfano (R-North Valley Stream) said they are
considering proposing legislation that could decrease the lag time. One such
measure would give insurers a set time, possibly 30 or 60 days, to approve a
customized chair, said Scott Cushing, Alfano's chief of staff. Manufacturers
could also be given a time window for assembling a chair, he said.
"This is an absolute disgrace and justice must be done for Thomas [Buckley]
and all of the other students impacted by this situation," Alfano said in a
statement.
Szita-Gore, the Praxair spokeswoman, said the process of identifying
customers is continuing.
Patrice Kuntzler, superintendent of the Henry Viscardi School, said the
students cannot afford to wait much longer.
"You can imagine the impediment to independence that students would have,
not being able to have an appropriate wheelchair," she said. "This isn't a
luxury for them."
Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/nassau/ny-liwhee295781091jul29,0,2277754.story
Wheelchair firm's decision troubles disabled LIers
BY PATRICK WHITTLE
Linda Lemmerman waited five months -- her son Brandon's wheelchair held
together with ACE bandages and a bungee cord -- before she found out that
the company she had hired to fix his wheelchair was getting out of the
business.
Lemmerman, a Ridge resident whose 17-year-old son has cerebral palsy, is
among dozens of Long Islanders whose life has been disrupted by a Bethpage
firm's decision to stop assembling, selling and repairing custom
wheelchairs.
That company, Home Care Supply, is shutting down that part of its operation,
said a spokeswoman for the company's parent firm, Praxair.
That leaves disabled people and their families with the prospect of waiting
another several months to get new, customized wheelchairs ordered from other
companies. That process includes a series of meetings with doctors and
approvals from insurance companies.
Two legislators from Long Island have raised questions about whether the
state needs stricter rules on the time it takes insurers and companies to
provide the customized wheelchairs, which are the only way many handicapped
people can move independently.
"These are his legs," Lemmerman said of her son's dependence on his
wheelchair.
Home Care Supply, which was bought by Praxair in 2004, is getting out of
customized wheelchairs because of declining reimbursements from governments
even as the cost of building the chairs is rising, said Susan Szita-Gore,
the Praxair spokeswoman.
The company stopped taking orders for new chairs in April and will be out of
that business by Oct. 1, but will continue repairing wheelchairs that are
under warranty, she said.
Szita-Gore said Home Care Supply had contacted customers by phone to tell
them of the decision to stop selling and fixing chairs. The company is also
working with families to find other firms that sell customized wheelchairs,
she said. She said she could not provide the number of customers who are
affected.
But Lemmerman and several other parents of children at the Henry Viscardi
School for physically disabled students in Albertson, said they were never
notified.
Cathy Buckley, whose son Thomas, 15, also has cerebral palsy, said word
spread through the school of Home Care Supply's exit from the business. She
said the process of purchasing a custom wheelchair requires a specialist to
take measurements of the user; insurers to approve specifications for the
chair; and assembly of the chair.
A custom-built chair can cost more than $20,000, Buckley said, adding that
many families rely on insurance to pay for them.
"We lost months," she said, and we had to start all over again and find a
new vendor."
The news sent many in search of other vendors. Gloria Walters, 57, of
Flushing, who has used a wheelchair since she was a child, said she doesn't
know where to turn for repairs to her 13-year-old chair.
"I don't know who I can use because they are closing down," she said.
The bureaucratic process of getting a customized wheelchair approved by an
insurance company is in part responsible for the predicament, said state
Sen. Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington). That can take as long as nine
months, he said, and Home Care Supply's decision came as many people were
waiting for that approval.
Johnson and Assemb. Tom Alfano (R-North Valley Stream) said they are
considering proposing legislation that could decrease the lag time. One such
measure would give insurers a set time, possibly 30 or 60 days, to approve a
customized chair, said Scott Cushing, Alfano's chief of staff. Manufacturers
could also be given a time window for assembling a chair, he said.
"This is an absolute disgrace and justice must be done for Thomas [Buckley]
and all of the other students impacted by this situation," Alfano said in a
statement.
Szita-Gore, the Praxair spokeswoman, said the process of identifying
customers is continuing.
Patrice Kuntzler, superintendent of the Henry Viscardi School, said the
students cannot afford to wait much longer.
"You can imagine the impediment to independence that students would have,
not being able to have an appropriate wheelchair," she said. "This isn't a
luxury for them."
Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.