Rent Or Buy Health Care Products?
Like most items that you can rent, there are pros and cons to renting or buying health care products. The biggest factor is the ultimate price you end up paying, literally.
First, the circumstances that govern the decision – Small things can have a big impact on your decision once you realize it. Let’s see, I can maybe narrow it down to two scenarios.
Scenario 1:
You are going on vacation and you or someone in your group uses medical equipment. The reason you need the equipment to begin with is for your safety and comfort. You can’t really have a good vacation without either of the two. If the equipment is something small that can be put in baggage like a nebulizer or wrist braces then you should be ok. You will, as you should, just bring what you already have at home. Besides, I don’t think many stores actually rent braces. On the other hand, nebulizer rentals are available. Things you have to worry about are big and hard to take on vacation with you, like scooters, wheelchairs, lift chairs or even oxygen systems.
On vacations I have a simple rule… if it fits in the luggage bag and you have room then take it with you. The big stuff, you are better off renting from where you will be vacationing. Trust me, by the time you figure in the price of the extra gas to haul the extra weight, the cramped space in the vehicle, moving big bulky equipment like lift chairs into elevators or up the stairs into your room and quite simply the headache that comes with worrying, you will do better just by renting it. Most medical equipment rentals are delivered and setup for you in your hotel rooms or where ever you are staying.
You can still buy or rent lift chairs, scooters, power chairs, oxygen concentrators or any of the other medical equipment instead of renting it, provided it can be shipped to your home. At VMS (Volusia Medical Supply, Inc.) you can rent the product and they will deliver it to you where you will be vacationing. VMS will pick it up after you are done with the rental. Then when you get home you will be delivered a brand new unit that you choose and the amount you paid for the rental (only up to the first month, I really doubt most of us can take a vacation longer than a month anyway) will be deducted from the sale price of the new item. You get the best of both deals. It really is like getting a free rental where you are vacationing when you buy the item from VMS for your home… pretty cool! The only catch is that you have to choose the rent-to-own option when you book your rental, otherwise you will lose the deal.
Important Note: If you are flying to your destination then please confirm with your airline as to what you can carry with you both in baggage and/or as a carry on. Most airlines will allow you to take a portable oxygen concentrator as a carry on, but things like wheelchairs, scooters and power chairs are likely heavily restricted. It would be terrible if you took the items to the airport and then were told that you would have to pay an outrageous fee or you simply couldn’t take it with you. A terrible way to start a vacation! So, please confirm with your airlines.
I had a customer once that called the airlines and confirmed with them that he will be able to take a lift chair with him in luggage so long as he pays extra. His trip started in Baltimore, where he had loaded the lift chair in his truck and drove to JFK airport in New York. Once he got there, at the ticket counter, he was told that he was mistaken and that even if he paid extra they simply can not transport the lift chair in the baggage hold of the plane for him. The fact that he had spoken to someone that said that he would be able to, meant nothing at the ticket counter. If he took the chair back he would have missed his flight and paid late fees. The airline suggested they could dispose it for him…. AS IF! I believe he finally convinced them to hold the chair there for a few hours while his friend drove down from Baltimore and took the chair back. They flew to Daytona Beach, Florida and ended up renting it from VMS for a week.
Tip: Bring the small stuff, rent the big stuff, and figure out if you want to buy it before you rent it.
Scenario 2:
If you are injured or post-surgery or for any other reason you need the equipment temporarily. In most cases I would recommend renting the item, if it is available for rent. In most cases! There are maybe only two reasons why you would want to buy it.
The first being that you really like the product or if you need to continue using the product indefinitely (according to the doctor’s orders).
The second reason boils down to money! How much will you end up spending on it! If you need it simply for a couple of weeks or a month even then you shouldn’t have to worry about it. But on the other hand if you are unsure or if its going to be more than a month then you should figure out which is cheaper. Renting is the way to go as long as it is cheaper to continue extending it. But in most cases in my experience renting it for more than 2 to 3 months might simply mean that you could have owned it by adding a little more money.
Let’s use a lift chair for example. If you rent a lift chair you can expect to pay anywhere from $200 – $300. Now if you need it for 3 months you are better off buying a new one. Because good lift chairs start around $800+ to purchase! You see my point now.
Point of Fact: Most insurances pay for the purchase of an item rather than a rental. Precisely, for this reason. If you do plan on purchasing it then VMS can help. They bill most insurance so you don’t have to worry about doing all the paperwork yourself.
Contact Volusia Medical on their website directly at www.volusiamedicalsupply.com, call them toll free at 1-866-956-2025, or view their many regional rental stores when searching for medical equipment rentals at RentItToday.com.
