DJ's Corner

Welcome to DJ's Corner. Darren Jernigan aka "DJ" is current Government Affairs Director at Permobil, Inc. Darren suffered a spinal cord injury nearly seventeen years ago and has a unique perspective on living life with a disability as a quadriplegic. Mr. Jernigan has degrees in political science and public relations and studied International Health Care Reform abroad in London, England. Afterwards, he began his career in Washington D.C. as a Security Specialist within the US Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security. In 1996, he relocated to Capitol Hill to work in the House of Representatives and later in public relations at the Veterans Administration.

DJ's Corner offers a collection of interesting stories, experiences and opinions soley written by Darren Jernigan.

[2008-09-19] 09/17/2008 Predicting the future of business, especially a particular industry, is not the easiest thing to do. We can look at trends and tradition and what the forecast are regarding the population, technology, and funding sources, but at the end of the day we really don’t know what will happen. To use a sports analogy, “that’s why they play the game”. So let’s tip off… The Consumer The mode...

[2008-07-25] 08-27-2007 Competitive bidding is slowly becoming a reality. All the arguments remain the same and CMS continues not to deal with hypothetical situations. Wait – this just in – CMS has extended another deadline. Could this mean some of the hypothetical arguments are coming true? Could there really be a burden on the provider? Will the end-user really lose choice or be harmed from such a policy?...

[2008-07-25] 01-03-2007 THE ALLOWABLES HAVE BEEN SET FOR THE EQUIPMENT; HOW DOES A REHAB PROVIDER GET PAID FOR THE SERVICES REQUIRED TO PROVIDE THAT PRODUCT? Theoretically, the allowables for power mobility devices have the service factor included into the price of the equipment, as the service factor is not currently broken out. As an industry the next step would to get these services broken out and code...

[2008-07-25] 11-02-2006 My grandfather taught me the only thing constant in life is change, and that change isn’t bad, it just sometimes can be a bit awkward trying to get there. Finally, the power wheelchair codes are providing some change in an industry desperate for it, but it has been a bit awkward. Over the past couple of years CMS, the MAC’s and the SADMERC have had open door forums, created a new...

[2008-07-25] 10-10-2006 Batteries Under FAA regulations an airline has the authority to remove, disconnect, and insulate batteries if the airline deems it necessary. If the wheelchair is equipped with “wet” cell batteries, most airlines will remove the batteries from the wheelchair and be stored separate during flight. If the wheelchair is equipped with maintenance-free gel batteries it shall not be necessa...

[2008-07-25] 01-31-2006 Since man started walking upright being mobile and independent became one of those inherent, inalienable rights we all fuss about in free societies. Being limited in mobility by say, an ocean, was not an option so we built boats. Once Magellan made his trek around the world we saw travel to be unlimited so we then worked hard on getting from point A to B in a fast way. We laid track...

[2005-11-30] 11-30-2005 The nation’s largest health insurance program is in danger. A recent report released by the Medicare and Social Security trustees stated that the Medicare program will be broke by 2019. With the rapid decline in the number of workers per beneficiary, rise in national health care spending, aging baby boom generation, and the prescription drug benefit passed last year, Congress will be...