A leg to stand on

I was conducting a survey of prosthetic limb makers for a client. One of the prosthetists I called told me the following:  some health insurance companies state up front that they will only cover $2,000-$5,000 for an artificial limb. However, a really functioning limb can cost $10,000-$40,000. If you call other health insurers, the agent will tell you what your coverage is--but only after she plays a recorded announcement to the effect that they “can’t be held to any statements that are made over the phone, and that the actual amount of benefits will be determined at the time the claim is submitted.”

So you order the best device that you can get within the amount that the agent says they will cover. Then when the bill comes in, the insurance company says they will only pay half, or even less. According to my source, this happens over and over again. You can't stiff your prosthetist, because the device doesn't last forever and you're going to need adjustments, new parts, and even a complete replacement in two to five years. What can you do? Mortgage your house (if you're lucky enough to have enough equity) so you have a leg to stand on? 


The prosthetist had a French name, so when I got good and angry, I mentioned the situation in France in 1789, and the fact that Thursday is Bastille Day. After I calmed down somewhat, I thought further back into history.... The first known prostheses were big toes, one carved from wood and the other made of linen, glue, and plaster, and found on Egyptian mummies. They date back to somewhere between the 7th and 13th centuries BCE. Both showed signs of wear, although the wooden one appears to have been more functional and the other more cosmetic. My sources didn't say what they cost back then.