Every one of my articles stresses the need to find a competent, honest repair 
facility if you rely on a wheelchair- and to purchase your mobility equipment 
from them.


This begs the questions: "why doesn't every company that sells equipment have such a
service department" and "I have many choices to get my car repaired other than the dealer
I bought it from, so where are the independent wheelchair repair companies?"


The answer is simple.  Companies that do repairs on wheelchairs loose money- big money -on 
each and every repair they do!  I have preached that for years on this website, but it has
been more of my opinion than a provable fact.


Now a study by the MED Group, reported in the March 15, 2002 issue of HME News
(click on their name to visit their site- a new window should open) shows how bad the 
losses per "transaction" are.  The analysis, as well as a white paper on the issue is to be 
presented to the administrator of CMS later this month.


The report states that on average a provider loses $150 per repair on transactions 
reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid, and other "payers" (such as some HMOs and insurance 
companies) who use the "CMS" schedule of reimbursement.  As most of charge "retail" at
approximately the same price billed for reimbursement (there are legal, "correctness issues",
and business reasons why why there usually is no attempt to charge more), money is lost on
each and every repair done.


This leaves the dealer with these alternatives:
     
 Overcharge the customer- i.e. cheat the customer.  Wrong and wrong!  Courts,
          newspapers, and customers frown on this practice.  So does one's conscience!

     
 Realize the obvious and simply stop doing repairs.  This (IMHO) is morally wrong.  
          A dealer that sells equipment has an obligation to support the equipment sold.
          Unfortunately, many dealers don't feel that way and go for the "easy money"
          leaving the end user to fend for himself for service.  
   
     
 Eat the loss and go out of business.  Many companies do.  Some do not even know 
          that they are loosing money on each repair.  Others think they can make it up on 
          sales- the report discusses how this is becoming more and more difficult as 
          margins on the sales of equipment (due to lower reimbursements for sales as well,
          and competition from the internet and non-servicing dealers) decrease the profit 
          necessary to fund repairs.  I am amazed that "service only" companies do
          start up (only to fail very quickly).  Obviously they haven't done their homework
          before going into business.

     
 Be very careful to repair only equipment sold by the dealer except when there are
          extenuating circumstances (someone on vacation who is stuck away from the selling
          dealer, or an opportunity to gain a satisfied customer).  This requires the dealer
          having to stop thinking about repairs as a "profit center", and instead think of 
          repairs for what they are: a "loss center".

The purpose of the report is to create another alternative: the proper reimbursement 
for repairs done.  This will not happen overnight.  And until the "paying" public is 
willing to accept repair bills with hourly labor rates equal to "equivalent" work in 
similarly skilled industries, the shortage of honest, competent repair shops will remain.





All the information provided herein is Copyright ©2008 Stuart L. Portner.  
All rights reserved.  May be printed and reproduced for individual use, but may not be 
distributed without the permission of the author.  

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