Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

statnews.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

181–190 of 330 posts

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#181

Post by boredpeter »

newsclues wrote: post #177
heyoni wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, the chairs and how they’re built aren’t what adds to the price tag; the fact that an insurance company is paying is what is. My daughter literally just got approved for a talking device that would otherwise cost us $4000. It’s a Samsung tablet with $300 software and an attached speaker and comes with some sort of repair agreement. I can buy and break 20 iPads for that price…and we did end up buying…

It’s similar to defence procurement. If the customer is government with endless budget, inflate costs, and use regulatory capture to maintain the cash flow.

Not only that but also lobby the government to start more wars so there’s a need for their product.

https://x.com/snmrrw/status/1717906441925751223

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#182

Post by kazinator »

wesselbindt wrote: post #140
pdonis wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Capitalism refers to the system of individuals pooling money together (capital) to start a venture that they couldn't if they acted separately. That's one aspect of capitalism, yes. But in capitalism as it is currently practiced, most of the people who are accumulating capital aren't people that are trying to start new ventures. They are people that are already rich but think they aren't rich enough, who are unable…

> Historically, virtually all monopolies have been the result of government interference I'm with you on this. In general, the state (by definition) functions to protect the interests of the politically dominant class, which, under capitalism, is the owning class. From the haymarket massacre to Biden's strike breaking shenanigans, this is absolutely beyond dispute. The state will always facilitate monopolies. The onl…

> The only way to get rid of monopolies is for the workers to organize and overthrow the dictatorship of the owning class.

It worked very well in Tsarist Russia, but that could have been a fluke.

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#183

Post by zamadatix »

whynotkeithberg wrote: post #174
heyoni wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, the chairs and how they’re built aren’t what adds to the price tag; the fact that an insurance company is paying is what is. My daughter literally just got approved for a talking device that would otherwise cost us $4000. It’s a Samsung tablet with $300 software and an attached speaker and comes with some sort of repair agreement. I can buy and break 20 iPads for that price…and we did end up buying…

For most people on here, they're more likely to believe that the disabled people are needy & expecting way to much rather than the companies behind it including insurance being greedy as hell.

What prompted you say this in the top voted comment chain where each ancestor comment says the exact opposite of said view?

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#184

Post by bcrosby95 »

pdonis wrote: post #41
cyberax wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In free market it's also OK to cut costs as much as possible, making chair that explode and kill the user one day after the warranty expires. That's why we have regulation: to establish the minimum standards. Simple medical devices like wheelchairs (Class I or Class II) are also not super over-regulated, you don't need to do clinical trials to certify them. All-in-all it'll cost you around $10m, which is not at all a…

> In free market it's also OK to cut costs as much as possible, making chair that explode and kill the user one day after the warranty expires. No, it isn't, because nobody will buy chairs from a company that does that. In a free market, no company can use the get out of jail free card of "but I was following all the regulations". Businesses have to actually meet customer needs. And in a free market, customers can't…

Right, that's why formaldehyde was used as a preservative, and both arsenic and lead as food coloring - despite knowing it killed people at the time.

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#185

Post by gavry »

heyoni wrote: post #151
somethoughts wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be honest - it actually seems like a risky Private Equity play as I bet the $65000 sticker price is due to the fact that Medicare is footing the bill. Medicare is likely what is requiring a regulation grade wheel chair, not the users themselves. I bet a huge segment of the user base could easily self purchase a mobility scooter and achieve the same quality of life if the price point was such that they could out of…

In my experience, the chairs and how they’re built aren’t what adds to the price tag; the fact that an insurance company is paying is what is. My daughter literally just got approved for a talking device that would otherwise cost us $4000. It’s a Samsung tablet with $300 software and an attached speaker and comes with some sort of repair agreement. I can buy and break 20 iPads for that price…and we did end up buying…

Wow - just curious, what's the name of the talking device?

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#186

Post by srackey »

azinman2 wrote: post #87

Banning private equity (not sure how) is necessary to prevent enshitification of all health care and related services.

Yes, because communism (what else is “banning private equity”?) NEVER results in “enshitification” of ANY kind.

Seriously, the issue here can most likely be tracked to private equity taking advantage of existing regulations. Not sure why MORE state involvement in the economy would be the solution.

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#187

Post by krapp »

serf wrote: post #167
krapp wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Star Trek style replicators can't be invented. The laws of physics won't allow it. It will always cost more energy and be vastly less efficient to assemble a cup of coffee atom by atom than it would to just grow the beans, have them picked, packaged and shipped, and make it yourself, and unlike in Star Trek, energy in the real world isn't free. You might say we could come close with advanced 3D printing and some kind…

>History is replete with advancements and inventions which were supposed to usher in utopia, and all they have ever done is further the means by which the powerful enslave and control us. Technology cannot solve human nature. humans are more sovereign than ever before in most calculable metrics.

What "calculable metrics?" By what definition of "sovereign?" Objectively, this is a meaningless statement to me.

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#188

Post by notfromhere »

akira2501 wrote: post #161
ptero wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect in the US the lack of competition is due to regulation and liability, not VCs.

There have been a lot of acquisitions and rollups in this space. We have regulations against this, but they are not enforced, and the VCs have the money to push through this layer anyways. It's both. The US lacks serious competition in _most_ of it's industries right now.

It’s the natural end result of the consumer price standard for antitrust

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#189

Post by jhawleypeters »

johngladtj wrote: post #136
wolverine876 wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not all regulation causes costs to go up. Some causes costs to go down, for example, by correcting inefficiencies created by raw game-theory market competition. Some reduce costs by creating a safer environment for investment, reducing risk. Regulation serves market participants too.

Regulation always increases costs, it's just that not all costs are easily visible

What's the invisible cost when cigarette advertising is banned, eliminating the arms race to out-advertise the competition?

Re: As private equity dominates wheelchair market, users wait months for repairs

#190

Post by heyoni »

gavry wrote: post #185
heyoni wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, the chairs and how they’re built aren’t what adds to the price tag; the fact that an insurance company is paying is what is. My daughter literally just got approved for a talking device that would otherwise cost us $4000. It’s a Samsung tablet with $300 software and an attached speaker and comes with some sort of repair agreement. I can buy and break 20 iPads for that price…and we did end up buying…

Wow - just curious, what's the name of the talking device?

https://www.prc-saltillo.com/
Post reply on HN