Haddayr Copley-Woods’ commentary hits it out of the ball park:
The people making decisions that will affect our day-to-day lives are people like Missouri’s junior Democratic senator, Claire McCaskill — who said a few months ago that we could save the government “hundreds of billions of dollars” by not “giving free scooters to Medicare beneficiaries who don’t really need them.”
This displays an all-too-common hostility and suspicion toward disabled people, as well as an appalling ignorance about what Medicare does — and this from one of our own public officials.
As a matter of fact, qualifying for a wheelchair of any kind in the United States is an enormously difficult process, even for those of us with private insurance. And the process of qualifying says a lot about how our citizens in general view disabled people.
Full article: Insurance may pay for your wheelchair, unless you need it to go someplace

Katja,
I can’t believe I am just now stumbling upon your blog. I’ll be visiting often.
The Senator makes an excellent point. I can’t count know how many older Americans or disabled Americans I know who lie about their need for a scooter, just to enjoy the improved social status and self-worth that comes with scooter use.
Give me a break. What an idiot.
For a posting about how insurance won’t pay for my wheelchair, check out:
http://www.enjoyingtheride.com/2009/07/this-is-not-my-mothers-wheelchair.html
and
http://www.enjoyingtheride.com/2009/07/this-is-not-my-mothers-wheelchair-part.html
Mitch, welcome! Glad to see you commenting here (and I’m surprised that you’re just now stumbling on it, too! :-)).