Is the cost of prosthesis too high?

Looking at the prices of a single installment of a

prosthesis, which can total over forty-five thousand dollars (Blough), a prosthesis is no small
investment. The costs do not end there, even the most advanced prosthesis have a limited
lifespan. Within one year a persons form has usually adapted to compensate for the lost
muscle, which means that the prosthesis must be replaced with a refitted model. With
maintenance and replacements over a period of five years the fees can reach the hundreds of
thousands (Mohney). Thats the cost of a fair sized house! So far these have been cost
projections of models that give back nearly full functionality to the user, there are cheaper
models that give back partial function but these are often for aesthetics and require some
additional help to maneuver.
Insurance is there to help cover these costs, but even with a copay of twenty percent
there may still be a ten-thousand dollar bill on your lap. Without insurance purchasing a
prosthesis would be financially catastrophic, says Jon Kolstad, an assistant professor
specializing in healthcare economics (Mohney). The Affordable Care Act, or ACA, guarantees
that insurance companies cant turn down coverage to those with preexisting conditions. The
ACA also limits the cost of insurance to eight percent of your annual income. So while insurance
is not universally owned the government, or at least the previous president, has done what they
can to make it available to all.
Blough, David K., et al. "Prosthetic Cost Projections for Servicemembers with Major Limb Loss from Vietnam and
OIF/OEF." Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, vol. 47, no. 4, July 2010, pp. 387-402.
EBSCOhost,
librarylink.uncc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=s3h&AN=54641437&
site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Mohney, Gillian. "Health Care Costs for Boston Marathon Amputees Add Up Over
Time."Abcnews.go.com. N.p., 25 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2017.