It is Monday evening once again, another week has gone and here I am keeping up the schedule of once a week writing. I have been thinking the past few hours about what to write tonight and haven't been coming up with much. It has been a week of more trial than triumph unfortunately.
The diaphragm pacemaker system that I use to breathe it an oddity. Some would so is the person it's attached to, but that's getting too far off topic. I am one of two people in Iowa that have it, so it's a pretty small market. That makes obtaining supplies for the DPS a bit of a challenge.
There are three parts the system requires in order to function, batteries, holder brackets for the plugin, and a detachable wire. The last one only needs replaced when damaged, so it's a rarity, but the first two get regular use. Batteries last about 500 hours, so it depends on how much I'm pacing as to their longevity, the connection holders, or holder brackets, typically go for one to two weeks. They come in a pack of 30, so it lasts about a year.
As I said, Iowa market share is small for these supplies, so we don't have a supplier in the state that covers them. Therefore, I have to use a company in Atlanta, GA, called Shepherd Apothecary to get my refills. Unfortunately, my insurance only covers things in the state, so getting something covered from Georgia is not an easy task. Once you have all the paperwork in place, it's good for one year. If you're still following along, you're getting the idea, this sequence occurs every time I order supplies. I started this year's work in mid-September.
Batteries are the first item on my annual shopping list, and an example of why health insurance costs are outrageous. If I ordered them from Shepherd, it would cost me over $107 for a pack of three batteries. I'm currently averaging about a battery a month, so 12 per year, or four packs. That means I would need to pay over $428 that I can't guarantee my insurance would cover. Thankfully, I found them at an electronics supplier where I can get them for $14-$16 per battery. Insurance will not cover them because they don't come from an approved facility. So, I pay for them out of pocket, but at a much better rate than Georgia applies. The brackets however are a specialized product, so I can only get them from Shepherd.
These brackets are fortunately under $80, but have so far been reimbursed by my insurance. This past Thursday I spoke with the fourth person at insurance who gave me the fourth answer of what to do. Hopefully this one has it right, but I'm not holding my breathe (I can't while the DPS is on anyway). A friend of mine, another quad like myself, and I researched this system quite a bit before getting it, and none of this was ever mentioned.
Times like these make me trust in God's timing and look to Him for patience. Hopefully by next year a medical company in Iowa will cover supplies. Until then, the annual battle will continue.
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