Articles - Healthcare Coverage en-us http://www.thescizone.com/news N/A http://www.thescizone.com/news michael@thescizone.com 20 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1549/1/Atlanta-rehab-hospital-to-provide-free-care-to-some-vets-with-brain-spinal-cord-injuries/1.html An Atlanta rehabilitation hospital will provide free care to wounded military veterans who need brain or spinal cord injury services that aren't covered by the government, hospital officials said Monday. The Shepherd Center, which treats spinal cord and brain injuries, has promised to provide a range of testing, care and rehabilitation services. It's part of a philanthropic effort driven by Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot Inc. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1339/1/A-Severe-Injury-Brings-Concern-and-a-Call-for-Insurance/1.html While the storm clouds were still forming, before they eventually rained out competition Thursday at the Dew Action Sports Tour event here, Ryan Nyquist searched for a silver lining. He tried to think of something positive that might result from the injuries sustained by Stephen Murray, a fellow professional bicycle motocross, or BMX, freestyle rider. “If what happened to Stephen, if some good came out of it, it would be amazing,” said Nyquist, 28, alluding to the possibility that medical and disability insurance, and other benefits, may be provided the way they are in other professional sports leagues. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1146/1/Reality-Racing-and-Paralyzed-Veterans-Announce-Promotional-Partnership/1.html Companies Team Up to Support America's Paralyzed HeroesReality Racing, Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: RRGI - News) and Paralyzed Veterans of America, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, announced today a cross-promotional partnership to benefit America's paralyzed heroes."Paralyzed Veterans strives to ensure that no American, especially those who risked their lives to protect the freedoms we take for granted every day, is denied access to employment, education, cultural activities or community life because of disability," stated Mark C. Dowis, Associate Executive Director of Marketing and Development, Paralyzed Veterans. "We are extremely pleased that Reality Racing has taken up our cause and made it their own." michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1138/1/Why-evict-patients-who-need-help/1.html A ragtag procession of patients in wheelchairs made their way down the long drive leading from Oak Forest Hospital to the 159th Street entrance on Friday afternoon to hold a rally protesting their threatened relocation. Many were paraplegics or quadriplegics. They were bundled in coats and blankets. Some had to be pushed, while others had just enough arm strength to manipulate the controls on their motorized wheelchairs. Zabrian Goodrich, 35, paralyzed in an auto accident, said he has been at Oak Forest for two years. Ralph Scroggins, 48, has been there seven years since suffering a spinal cord injury that he says resulted from surgery at Stroger Hospital. Glenn Wise, 46, has been an Oak Forest patient for 18 years, since he was shot in the head by a Chicago Police officer after he pulled a stickup with a toy gun. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Sun, 08 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1077/1/War-Vet-Caught-in-Red-Tape/1.html A soldier who was discharged from the West Roxbury VA hospital before Thanksgiving is still waiting for the Army to discharge him. Sergeant Chase Gean needs those papers to start collecting his disabled veterans' benefits and continue his rehabilitation. The holdup is at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, where doctors make decisions about whether soldiers should be discharged. WBUR's Fred Thys interviewed Gean just before he was released from West Roxbury VA last November, and now has the story of what's happened to him in the months since. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Fri, 09 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1048/1/Making-Health-Care-Universally-Available/1.html Juan Martinez had not seen a doctor in the five years since he left Peru when he arrived one recent winter afternoon at the converted camper-turned-clinic operated by the Malta House of Care Foundation. After waiting for a short while in the church basement that served this day as the mobile clinic's waiting room, he was examined by Dr. William Harris, a retired family physician who volunteers his time. He left with orders for blood tests that would be performed free at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, which underwrites the mobile clinic's cost with help from private donors and the Archdiocese of Hartford. And if the tests show that Martinez needs medication, he'll get that free, too. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Sun, 25 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/1011/1/A-wounded-GIs-new-battle/1.html It was about 1 p.m., and his convoy had paused at a checkpoint near Baqubah, Iraq, northeast of Baghdad, after a report that a man may have planted a bomb. Just the week before, in the same area, an improvised explosive device detonated under his vehicle, damaging the windows. The team was on alert, but Cannon noticed nothing suspicious. "I don't remember hearing the first shot," he says, "but I remember feeling short of breath." michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Sun, 04 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/978/1/Insurers-often-cap-coverage-for-the-latest-spinal-cord-injury-treatments/1.html New technologies and more aggressive approaches to treating spinal cord injuries pioneered in Detroit are giving patients new independence and improved mobility. But the innovations come at a big price at the very time insurers are trying to hold down rising health costs. While some advocates see progress in getting insurance to cover the treatment, patients are finding that insurers are willing to pay only so much for only so long. Bob Smith of Harrison Township, injured in a diving accident on July 4, 1999, learned in December that Health Alliance Plan no longer would pay for his therapy at the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan in Detroit, as it had for 2 1/2 years. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Mon, 22 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/878/1/Coalition-Calls-on-Congress-to-Change-Medicare-Rule/1.html Mobility equipment manufacturers and dealers are joining with power wheelchair users and doctors to call on Congress to prevent a major access problem for Medicare beneficiaries.The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a new Power Mobility Devices Coverage Policy and Fee Schedule that takes effect Wednesday. The coalition says the Medicare cuts will have a devastating impact on power wheelchair users in Indiana with significant disabilities and restrict many to their homes, beds or nursing homes. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Mon, 13 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.thescizone.com/news/articles/868/1/Wheelchair-funding-to-be-cut/1.html To combat fraud, Medicare reducing reimbursementsThere is no question that Keith Copen needs his motorized wheelchair. The 59-year-old is paralyzed from the thighs down and the chair helps him shop, get to his van, and travel over snow and ice. But for the tens of thousands of seniors who got Medicare to buy them motorized scooters in recent years, the benefit is less clear. Now the government is cracking down on fraud and abuse in wheelchair industry, and Copen might pay the price. "Without this kind of chair, I can't operate," he said Tuesday. michael@thescizone.com (Michael Feger) Wed, 25 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0400