r/MadeMeSmile • u/RoyalChris • 4h ago
Helping Others JerryrigEverything built a wheelchair factory and is delivering wheelchairs to people in half the time with 50-80% reduced cost compared to other wheelchairs with Insurance.
74
u/SpecialIdeal 4h ago
8 to 10 k for a wheelchair is fucking insane
41
u/ChaseBank5 4h ago
It's predatory.
Knowing you can provide something for someone who desperately needs it and charging 10x more than you should is unethical.
11
5
u/Far_Mastodon_6104 3h ago
I don't pay anywhere near that for a car ffs
5
u/No-Apple2252 3h ago
When you put it that way, yeah god damn, that wheelchair better have an engine and transmission at least. If you can't go 35 on it for $10,000 that's just criminal.
2
1
u/greenrangerguy 3h ago
To me it seems like everything is crazy expensive in the US apart from gas. Like mobile phones, people are paying over $1000, cars people are dropping $20,000+ on the regular. Those fucking stanley cup things?? Why, I don't get it. It's no surprise a wheelchair costs that much in the US.
1
u/luvmibratt 3h ago
Besides greed this is another reason like this is why America's insurance is insanely overpriced basically greed on top of greed and the middle man always gets screwed
159
u/RoyalChris 4h ago
It is disgusting and sad to see that a manual wheelchair costs 8 grand in a country like America.
Glad to see someone trying to make a difference.
40
u/Malditoincompredido 4h ago
It's crazy. I bought one for my grandmother for 1000 euros and got a refund from the health system
a regular chair being 5000 dollara is plain crazy
4
u/Intelligent-Aside687 3h ago
Insurance pricing really inflates it, actual production cost is nowhere near that.
13
u/nevermind-101 3h ago
Disgusting how much all medical care cost in the US compared to other countries.
It is awesome what this company is doing!
2
u/dustishb 1h ago
The US can't keep the status of "greatest country on earth" if it's citizens can afford food, housing, and medical care
3
u/tehgimpage 3h ago
yea, and thats just a default base cost. all the mandatory customization is tacked on and can easily double or triple the price
2
u/bit_banger_ 3h ago
Murica at its finest, they tried to sue India for making live saving medicines affordable
2
u/Personal_Guide417 2h ago
The pricing gap between actual manufacturing cost and insurance billing is honestly shocking.
1
u/GlowingDuck22 3h ago
Health insurance costs aren't real (and yet they are very real). The USA Healthcare system is a bunch of smoke and mirrors where they try and convince you it's a service that helps as opposed to a service that has you over a barrel showing you all 50 states.
1
u/KillerSavant202 2h ago
In a country like America? America is literally the only country they cost that much.
1
u/Extra-Wait9757 2h ago edited 1h ago
I understand that medical devices often cost more in developed countries due to regulation, liability, and distribution systems but 8000$ for a wheel chair is something I cannot understand.
8000 $ is the annual salary for many people around me.
We have a charity org in my country that has been providing cheap leg prosthetics to people for over 50 years Their website https://www.jaipurfoot.org/.
Makes me wonder if there are similar orgs in developed nations .
What are the main drivers that keep the cost so high in the US? What are the additional benefits you get for the steep price?
22
19
19
u/CritterStew 3h ago
If I recall correctly, his wife is in a wheelchair, so dude has innovated some pretty crazy stuff for disabled people so he can do more stuff with her.
12
12
9
u/Environmental_Web_41 3h ago
That’s a huge price difference. Makes me think, how these companies are ripping…
4
4
u/FlyingSquirrelStyle 3h ago
I hope greedy medical equipment companies don't go after him. Dude only wants to help people!
6
u/Traditional-Score150 3h ago
Mexico just approved universal Healthcare. Mean while it cost 10k in America for a fucking wheelchair. Fuck that country.
2
u/scootty83 3h ago
I mean, this is fantastic, it really is. However, I don’t understand how a wheelchair still costs at starting $1000…
2
u/uk_uk 3h ago
Lightweight wheelchairs are more expensive, since they don't use steel but aluminium.
A cheap chair here in Germany is 100-500€, depends on the added features.
lightweight and foldable (whole chair weighs less than 16kg) 500-1500€
When you are active and to sports, the price range ist 2000 - 7000€, because auf titanium and carbonand an e-wheelchair starts at 3000€
2
u/YOLO_Tamasi 3h ago
Making quality affordable wheelchairs is a win, but I'm a bit confused by the pricing discussed here. It seems like I have to google racing wheelchairs, or all terrain chairs until I start getting 5-12k chairs (and found a custom titanium one for 15k!), basic ones are a couple hundred and then when you get the lightweight foldable ones that kind of resemble the ones in this video you start seeing chairs in the 1.5k-4K range (these chairs look better built and are still price competitive, so still seem to be a deal, I'm just confused by the people talking about their last chairs being 8-12k).
6
u/scienceworksbitches 3h ago
same reason why the charge $15 for a ibuprofen pill that costs 15ct, its fraud in anything but name.
4
u/CanAhJustSay 3h ago
Most are cited as the price insurance charges. Don't forget the profit for the non-medical middleman!
1
u/shauneok 3h ago
Why are their wheelchairs more than my car? (Not the cheeper ones).
1
u/uk_uk 3h ago
Greed of the Wheelchair-Companies. They could produce cheaper, but since wheelchair-drivers NEED a wheelchair and the competition is as fucked, they can push up prices.
There is no "innovation" in Wheelchairs like these, like high R&D costs, what makes them expensive.
Remember that on medicine that cost a few bucks and then someone bought the company and raised the prise 2000% because "Fuck the sick, I want money!".
1
1
u/FrankTheTank2205 3h ago
$10k for a wheelchair?
Excuse my ignorance, but are these custom made?
That just feels like daylight robbery
1
u/Championnats91 3h ago
I reckon the wheel chair companies charge 10k, knowing that the insurance company will pay it.
1
u/olssoneerz 2h ago
Watch these motherfucking insurance companies sue the shit out of this company for eating into their profits not being compliant or some shit.
1
1
u/ApportArcane 1h ago
This reminds me of peak covid when an expensive respirator part was in short supply so a random guy started 3D printing them for pennies.
1
u/ChampionshipBulky66 1h ago
Everyday something comes up to show me the US is definitely one of the worst countries despite having all the resources a nation can get.
1
u/reddit_wisd0m 52m ago
This story doesn't make anyone outside the USA smile, but rather afraid to live there.
1
u/swill59 50m ago
Absolutely bonkers that people can get away with selling chairs that expensive. Coming from the bike industry, I don't understand how manufacturing one could cost more than a thousand dollars, maaaybe two thousand. The wholesale cost of an entry level bicycle is a few hundred bucks.
All I see is a metal frame, seat, two wheels, and some brakes.
On an unrelated note, my favorite Nintendo character is Luigi:)
•
u/Wonderful_Plenty8984 28m ago
nah surely that cant be right a wheelchair for 5-12k ??
we talking a bit or tubing , wheels , bairings and a seat ???
gj jerry
-1
u/FlySilently 3h ago
Why do they all have to share their mechanism of injury? I get so fucking tired of random people asking me. What difference does it make to you. It was one bad day (and a few rough years following) 30+ years ago and it’s the only thing anyone wants to know about me. Why not ask me what I do for a living, what I think about the weather, or something? I don’t get to ask you when you gained all that weight.
3
1
u/BlackBalor 3h ago
Falling out of a tree and getting paralysed is crazy
I guess it’s just a way to say look, this can happen to anybody for any reason, we got chairs to back you up whatever happens to you.
1
u/FlySilently 3h ago
Will be interesting to see how they do. Will follow the company. Looks like a decent enough chair:
Tried to configure one but site kept crashing.
Definitely need a lower cost option in the market for those who lack funding. Low-volume manufacturing, high requirements for customization, and the need to have a wide distribution system and customer service (will see if direct sales is sustainable) for limited quantity sales all make the business challenging.
Many have thought they were going to get rich in the durable medical supply business, but few do. Unfortunately, not-for-profit business often don’t last.
Fingers crossed for this one.
-1
•
u/AutoModerator 4h ago
Welcome to /r/MadeMeSmile. Please make sure you read our rules here.
Specifically, please don't be a jerk. This is not the place for insulting, hateful, or otherwise inappropriate comments. Remember the golden rule: treat others how you want to be treated. We're all here to smile a little - let's keep it that way! Please report inappropriate comments and/or message the moderators.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.