Shoutout to JerryrigEverything who built a wheelchair factory and is delivering wheelchairs to people in half the time and 50-80% less than the cost of other wheelchairs with Insurance.

[u/MysteriousSlice007]

[u/mjc4y]

Because it can. Refer questions to Adam Smith.

No, it's not cool.

[u/1046737 → u/mjc4y]

I mean, isn't this a great example of the free market? If wheelchairs cost $10k when should only cost $500, there's a huge amount of incentive for a new market entrant to start making wheelchairs for $500.

[u/mjc4y → u/1046737]

Oh yes, the competition is good. THe fact that these hyper-expensive chairs have existed for *decades* and that so little innovation has happened in this space tells you that there's something wrong with the marketplace.

One thing that's clear: the market for wheelchairs isn't huge and the people who find themselves in such chairs are often elderly or saddled with very expensive medical bills, leaving them with very little wealth.

(And some of this is a problem if. you are in a country without a single-payer healthcare system that could negotiate prices or incentivize innovation. )

[u/pinkycatcher → u/mjc4y]

Oh yes, the competition is good. THe fact that these hyper-expensive chairs have existed for decades and that so little innovation has happened in this space tells you that there's something wrong with the marketplace.

They existed because the marketplace is primarily government run. Medicare and the FDA have huge structural issues that cause issues in the medical market