Dme reviews- good and bad

[RollingInParadise]

MODS CAN YOU STICKY THIS.

lets start documenting our dme's both local and national. we all know they are getting greedy.

millers akron, oh. i dont recommend. they will only do chairs w/ highest reimbursment, which equals shit.

[RollingInParadise]

mods, hellooooooooooooooooooooo

[RollingInParadise]

Thx guys...........

Ok bring it on. This can be a wealth of info

[Oddity]

Carolina Mobility - Chesapeake, VA Office

Long term para running the front end, spec'ing chairs. Nice guy, good experience. Shop runs at a kind of a slow pace, but what DME could ever be called fast?!?

I liked dealing with them. Next time I have to go to ins for a chair I'll start there first, for sure.

[hlh]

Metro Rehab Services - Chicago area (Rehab Institute of Chicago vendor)

VERY POOR. Will never use them again.

- Many errors with ordering equipment
(ordered wrong shower chair, wrong shower bench when discharged)

- Equipment was not ready when discharged from the hospital

- Wheelchair ordering hell

Despite us ensuring all paperwork/documentation needed for ordering wheelchair was complete, delayed even sending it to insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield) for pre-certification for months until I threatened to report them.

Terrible customer service - never called back, lame excuses, unreliable. Poorly staffed without multiple people covering. Everyone seems to go home early (eg. 3pm).

Repeatedly sent opaque, confusing bills for thousands of dollars to my parents that were WRONG. All for things that we knew insurance would pay for (everything was pre-approved) and that they had not processed properly. I thought this was near fraud, as my parents would have ignorantly paid the bills if I hadn't intercepted them. And every time I called to ask what the bills were even FOR they acted like they had no idea what was wrong... The bills didn't even say what they were for!!

Incompetent billing agent - admitted she wasn't experienced with Medicare! Made many mistakes submitting the claims to Medicare - I had to clarify them in the end and facilitate payment by our insurance companies as she clearly did not know how to.

Had to call literally dozens of times to push them or I suspect we would have never seen our wheelchair.

You know it's bad when Medicare actually recommends that you switch Providers.

The only positive note is their wheelchair specialist who works with the OT at RIC - Dave Knight. A very good guy, fairly earnest, tried to help us. When we finally got our wheelchair - and the wheels didn't fit the frame (!) he was good about getting the problem rectified quickly (2 weeks).

[RollingInParadise]

Great guys, this is something all us gimps need, a resource to dme's. They are going to shit fast.

[hodad123]

i live in new mexico , i used united seating and mobility , very poor , they are unqualified to do work stay clear , the sales rep chanin is a jerk is only concerned about his commission , isnt a dme suppose to help us not screw us .

[Big Tuna]

Chesapeake Rehab Equip. - Philly office is sloooow and has messed up all my orders

The service dept. is awesome, but the head tech just left... so who knows now!

[RollingInParadise]

health aid of ohio.

long story short, i was disputing a bill w/ them while trying to get zr ordered. after they would not give me a copy of what they billed i got it from my ins, they inflated several items 2-3 x's retail, then charged me a percentage of that. then they wanted money down b4 ordering my new zr, i said hell know and moved on, when they found out where i went they called that company and said i wasnt paying a 500 bill, yup hipaa violation.

they have no idea what they stirred up. i lodged complaints w/ bbb, attorney general , inspector general and brought the fraud issue to anthems attention. i recieved a letter from anthem and inspter gen, they are both going to investigate.

the girl rachel i went through on my 1st zr was great, but she moved on, the new rep got greedy.

the hr girl hndeling this for health aid is incompent and potentially cost them alot of headaches and fines, not to mention the anthem fraud issue.

the one positive w/ them is the service guy hes incredible.

these dme's have us at their mercy or so they think, stand up for your rights, dont take any shit.

funny thing, i did all the work, they did nothing but fax what i had sent to them to anthem. spec sheet, ltr med nec, everything, i do it all. they would have made money for doing nothing.

[jryprt]

I use Alegent Home Health in Omaha, Ne. They are very good Have been using them for 7 years when I call they will come over that day or the next. Just this week I called on Tuesday for batteries & arm rests they came on wed.

[kenf]

Health Aid of Ohio screwed my chair up. I was at Metro , they and Metro have some kinda deal going on. HAO has a Christmas party every year for the PT"s and OT's , humm. They came to measure me at Metro for my chair. Just my luck I get some rookie. After waiting like 6 months after I was home , the chair finally came. I'm a T-4 and the chair was for a T-12 or lower. Also for somebody about 5' 8" , not 6' 3". Balance was way off , wrong backrest , chair to low and to short. My PT who comes to the house saw it and just laughed. Told me to get the right chair. They screwed up big time. So I spend 4 or 5 months in this chair waiting on the new one. They should of just left the loaner or brought it back. New chair comes. Has the right back and seat. The color was wrong lol. Also the chair again is to short. He moves the axle assy. all the way back and it's very tippy. Bunch of guys at a company I did work for built my ramp for the front door. Their all carpenters and got the specs from the ADA. The chair is so tippy I cannot go up the ramp forward. I have to go up backwards. If I go up forward the front wheels just go up and you get nowhere lol. Both wheelie bars have broken off. Needless to say massive head slam lol. My buddy made me some from steel. Chairs so tippy , it would be nasty life without them. You call them they could care less. Then they had the balls to bill me for the changes on the new chair. They sold me a T-4. I worked on my harley less. I'm always fixing something on this pc of crap. in about a year i get a new one. When this one was ordered I knew nothing about chairs. I trusted them for their experience lol. When I get the new one you can bet it will fit me right and it won't be from them idiots at health aid of Ohio.

[duji54]

my all time "favorite" hospital home in moosic pa. rehab ordered me a shower/commode chair. was never coming i called insurance, wont pay cause it has wheels and its considered a luxury item. so i really needed it i paid 1500.00 which was 1/2 down. before they ordered it. when they delivered it it was so big like for a 200lb person. i weigh 117lbs, i had to pay a 520.00 restocking fee for them to take it back. i got nada. what choice did i have. these dme are a sin for what they charge and give to people. they figure what can we do about it? bad advertising is a good start.

[RollingInParadise]

great lets spread the word. ken, im currently w/ atg from cinci, so far so good, lol. ill keep u posted.

i know tilite and their reps stop in here. you ppl should pay attention, health aid is making you look very bad.

spread the word

Health Aid of Ohio screwed my chair up. I was at Metro , they and Metro have some kinda deal going on. HAO has a Christmas party every year for the PT"s and OT's , humm. They came to measure me at Metro for my chair. Just my luck I get some rookie. After waiting like 6 months after I was home , the chair finally came. I'm a T-4 and the chair was for a T-12 or lower. Also for somebody about 5' 8" , not 6' 3". Balance was way off , wrong backrest , chair to low and to short. My PT who comes to the house saw it and just laughed. Told me to get the right chair. They screwed up big time. So I spend 4 or 5 months in this chair waiting on the new one. They should of just left the loaner or brought it back. New chair comes. Has the right back and seat. The color was wrong lol. Also the chair again is to short. He moves the axle assy. all the way back and it's very tippy. Bunch of guys at a company I did work for built my ramp for the front door. Their all carpenters and got the specs from the ADA. The chair is so tippy I cannot go up the ramp forward. I have to go up backwards. If I go up forward the front wheels just go up and you get nowhere lol. Both wheelie bars have broken off. Needless to say massive head slam lol. My buddy made me some from steel. Chairs so tippy , it would be nasty life without them. You call them they could care less. Then they had the balls to bill me for the changes on the new chair. They sold me a T-4. I worked on my harley less. I'm always fixing something on this pc of crap. in about a year i get a new one. When this one was ordered I knew nothing about chairs. I trusted them for their experience lol. When I get the new one you can bet it will fit me right and it won't be from them idiots at health aid of Ohio.

[wheeliecoach]

I am with ATG in Connecticut. I have had no issues. I went in there with what I wanted (TiLite ZR), and even though they typically do not deal with TiLite (preference is Quickie), I did not get an argument or anything. I had done all of the measurements before hand...and we talked about the concerns he had...but in the end, he ordered what I wanted. The chair came without any problems and he has contacted me to make sure I am still liking my chair. Definitely recommend Toby and ATG.

[EastRando]

Hello, I've been lurking for a while and decided to post. I've ordered three chairs from three different DMEs.
The first was a Quickie 2 from National Seating and Mobility in Annapolis Junction, Maryland. I got this chair right out of rehab. I didn't know anything about wheelchairs or measurements or anything, so the DME did all of the work. The chair fit me well and I continue to use it as my primary wheelchair.
The second was a Quickie Ti from Robert's Home Medical in Maryland. I still didn't know any better, so I let the DME do the measurements again. I didn't even demo anything. Every measurement that could possibly be wrong was wrong. One guy tried to help, but in five years I haven't gotten the chair comfortable, which is why I still use the Quickie 2.
This past Wednesday, I went to Woodrow Wilson Rehab Center in Fishersville, VA. I can't recommend this place enough. I got sent there through the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services and didn't have to pay a dime for a day's worth of PT and wheelchair evaluation.
Joe Fangman, my PT, spent basically the whole day with me and was awesome. He taught me floor-to-chair and chair-to-floor transfers, curb hopping, and going down stairs. They have an FES bike that used to belong to Christopher Reeve, which I got to ride! I can't wait to get one for myself, even if I have to pay out of pocket.
Joe and Jeff (whose last name I don't remember) spent hours with me demoing chairs and cushions and backs. We went with a TiLite 2GX, with a Jay J3 back.
I wanted a folding chair because I have a Braun Chair Topper on my car, which only works with folders. I was considering a Quickie GTX, but it's apparently being discontinued and has some reliability issues. I really wanted to try an Air Flight. Woodrow Wilson didn't have a demo model and when Joe called the company, they said they don't have any distributers in Virginia and couldn't send a representative with a demo. We decided not to go with a TiLite TX because we can't be 100% sure about the front and rear seat-to-floor heights yet. I think my next chair's going to be less adjustable.
The DME herself didn't show up until Joe and Jeff and I had decided on all of the dimensions and specifications. She's going to submit it to my insurance, then to the Virginia DRS, which may pay the deductible, so I may not have to pay anything out of pocket. The chair won't be ready for a couple months, so I'll report back when it arrives or if I have any further comments about the DME.