By Allan Friedman, CFILC’s Technologies Manager<\/i><\/p>\n
There seems to be some reluctance on the part of many AT professionals to recommend or assist consumers in acquiring used assistive technology devices. Medi-Cal, Medicare, the Veteran’s Administration and other funders will not fund the purchase of a used AT device; only new will do. Why?<\/p>\n
The number one barrier to getting AT is cost. Consumers who lack insurance are often ineligible for funding from other sources. With little or no income of their own, they are regularly forced to endure long waits to replace worn out devices or to get AT in the first place. Used devices could fill this void, allowing more people to live independently.<\/p>\n
The need is especially great for durable medical equipment (DME). Wheelchairs, scooters, lifts and other devices can mean the difference between dependency on others and maintaining one\u2019s independence and quality of life.<\/p>\n
With such a great need and demand for AT, I wonder why so few organizations serving people with disabilities are willing to accept donations of used AT. Indeed, much of the DME that is donated often ends up overseas, serving a valid need in the third world. But much of that equipment could just as well be serving the need here at home.<\/p>\n
While there are challenges to running an AT reuse program, especially for DME, successful programs in other states prove it can be done without harm to the organizations or compromise on the part of the consumers. By extending the useful life of devices, we keep waste out of our landfills, fill a need in our communities and maximize the return on investment for cash strapped government programs that are often the funders of new AT.<\/p>\n
New is not necessarily better. Properly sanitized and refurbished, most AT and DME can continue to be useful and meet a need for those who receive them. We\u2019ve got to give up our tendency to dispose of things and begin to think seriously about reuse. It is the easiest and least expensive way to expand the availability of AT and DME for people in our communities with the greatest need and least resources.
The above article represents the opinion of the author.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Allan Friedman, CFILC’s Technologies Manager There seems to be some reluctance on the part of many AT professionals to recommend or assist consumers in acquiring used assistive technology devices. Medi-Cal, Medicare, the Veteran’s Administration and other funders will not fund the purchase of a used AT device; only new will do. Why? The number…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[21],"class_list":["post-200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-at-reuse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abilitytools.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}