My fiance cannot afford the outrageous cost of transport to a doctors appointment. My fiance has had leg surgery, been in rehab for 2 weeks, now she has a dr. appointment at an ortho clinic, but cannot afford the outrageous cost of transport-rehab WILL NOT let family or friends transport her, so rehab says that if she can't get to the dr., they will not be able to release her! What do THEY have a doctor on staff for then? Any thoughts? Thanks.
Is your finance in a wheelchair? If yes, check with the rehab facility to see if they have a name of a wheelchair van taxi. The wheelchair van taxi brings into the facility their own wheelchair and your fiance would be placed in the van via ramps, and the wheelchair is locked in. Yes, the ride would be more than that of a regular cab, but check to see if your finance's health insurance would cover the cost of transportation to and from her doctor.
They probably don't allow family or friends for this reason. This suggests to me that her physical condition is such that she needs professional transport, at least in the opinion of the rehab staff.
I do understand your frustration though. But ask yourself, seriously, if you can handle the transportation, i.e., do you know how to use a gait belt, how to safely transfer from a wheelchair by removing the arms so she can slide into the car, if you actually have a slide board to use?
Another alternative is to reschedule the appointment, unless it's for surgical followup specifically.
I'm wondering if there are any senior centers locally that have paratransit vans that could transport her, and if that would be acceptable to the facility.
As to staff doctors, my experience is that sometimes they're just mediocre, but they generally are PCPs or internists and not specific ortho or other specialty doctors. They can check surgical incisions for overall healing, but the facility may not have x-ray capability as an ortho doctor probably would.
Have you looked into insurance coverage for medical transport? If he's on Medicaid, it is almost certainly covered. Talk to the social worker at the facility about this.
.insisting on the use if their wheel chairs.
After less than a week....she checked herself out. They refused to discharge her...so she discharged herself. This isn't a prison. They cannot keep someone as if they were jailed. It took her 2 days to get everything arranged...meanwhile, they stop giving her any food!
Nicest looking place in town. Worst treatment. What they really wanted was for Mom to never walk again and become a permanent resident. I think once they saw the financial resources Mom has...they wanted that.
I had to transport my mother to an ortho when she had a broken shoulder and broken back - as it was just across the rehab suggested I push her wheelchair - no way but fortunately I could afford the $50 it cost for a van
Uber now has handicapped vehicles but don't know of the cost would be any cheaper than a referral to a non emergency medical transport - not a private ambulance but a wheelchair van as FF describes above - they do want payment at the time of transfer
Rehab is probably not allowing family or friends to transport, because they have an ambulance, van, etc service that they give business to, who in turn pays the rehab for the referral. In other words, it is all about the money.
Like Ms Madge mentioned, you pay in full before being transported, Rehab will give you the total cost and options for payment, They figure many put the cost on a credit card. They're also using their power to discharge, to try to encourage using a transportation service they do business with