Power chair saga Update 02

My power chair vendor's CEO emailed me asking if I still had a complaint about the chair. I went on to tell him it was not what I expected. It was the brand they told me I would get. But it was not set up the way I thought it would be. He knows about the difficulties because he got copies of the letters I wrote to Medicaid.

I also got from Medicaid the prescription which is also the billing for the power chair. I was surprised to find the order was for a different brand than the brand I got. In fact, it was the same brand and model as my previous power chair. The transition to that chair may have been easier for me, since I had used that brand of chair since 1998.

I have no idea why the wrong brand of chair was in the order. It's confusing. Maybe it was a clerical error. Maybe the wrong paperwork got sent. Maybe it got switched with another order. I do have to admit that the order process paperwork is very convoluted. And it was 37 pages long. Some of the documentation about my medical condition is on the paperwork several times. The whole form I know is computerized. Did they think everyone would write something different to put it in each individual section?

I have no idea. I just know the whole thing has me a little bit scared. Have I uncovered something? All I wanted was a power chair that worked for me and was newer than what I had. In my research I have discovered that Medicaid law says a vendor cannot substitute a different power chair from what was ordered. So, if that's what happened, there is a problem.

I also was told from a Medicaid representative that Medicaid does not check power chair purchases on a case-by-case basis. She told me there's no way they could do that. That just mystified me. Medicaid needs to know it's not their money it's the taxpayer's money. They need to use all due diligence to make sure the power chair that is prescribed is ordered and delivered.

I also wondered if Medicaid made the error. Since my first and only Medicaid power chair was the same brand as what is on this paperwork, I wonder if when they went through the data, they printed the wrong file. Some of the prescription for the chair looks like it's on old forms. But, it has been copied. I just wonder if it was pulled out of a notebook of regulations. Perhaps order paperwork is not always in the correct order.

The vendor has suggested a meeting towards the middle of the month. I would like the regional long-term care ombudsman to be there. I also want a friend to attend with me, or call-in via conference call. I would like someone to hear what goes on.

The vendor also wants to meet late in the day – 3 PM. I wake early in the morning and will be winding down and getting tired by then. So I asked if it could be changed to a different time, or maybe a different day, if necessary. I also said I wanted a friend to attend and if they could not make it on the day he suggests, we may have to negotiate a different day.

So, my life is getting stranger than I thought. It's too bad there is no Medicaid forum online where I could have posted my complaint months ago. Then maybe we would all have been saved a lot of trouble and time.