Question:
An experience getting a hospital bed from Kaiser Permanente- VA

Hello everyone. I don't have a question. I just wanted to let anyone who has Kaiser Permanente that you will probably qualify for a hospital bed in your after for up to 3 months after the surgery. My big day is May 10th, and I have been thinking a lot about my bed situation (and I have gotten a lot of good feedback from this site, thank you very much!). I have a waterbed which is totally unsuitable for immediate post op. And I do not have any type of recliner. My family lives 5 hours away, so it's hard for them to help out with this. I checked into renting a hospital bed, but found the cost prohibitive ($200 for a month including delivery). My funds are a bit low. Anyway, I have been trying through Kaiser to see if I could qualify under the "Durable Medical Equipment" coverage of my insurance. I needed a doctor referral and neither my PCP nor general surgeon (who referred me to the outside surgeon) would cooperate. I got very frustrated and called member services. This in itself was a very frustrating experience for me as no one would return my calls but I didn't give up the ship!!!!! Finally, I decided a personal visit to member services might be in order so I went in today. And low and behold, I qualify with no problem at all!!! The only requirement was that I had to have had a hospital stay, and of course I do! I feel I only need it for a few weeks, but I am now happy to know I can do it. And they will follow up with my PCP to FORCE her to write a referral. She will not have a choice. I know that many of you don't have a problem, and you are able to use what you have in the house or what you can borrow, but I am not in this position, so it is a real godsend to me. I visited a WLS buddy in the hospital yesterday, and it was very apparent to me that I could not simply make due with what I had. So for those of you who have Kaiser - stick it out, be aggressive, be forceful, and if necessary, be rude about it!!! We patients PAY for our benefits, and it is up to us to fight for them!!! :)    — Paula G. (posted on April 7, 2000)

April 8, 2000
Please be sure that you include mention of this in the insurer section of your profile. Thanks.
   — ericklein