Should the Gov't Pay For Injured Man's Wii?

An anonymous reader writes "Politicians in the Australian state of Victoria are currently locked in a debate about whether an injured man should be able to claim the cost of a Nintendo Wii for rehabilitation purposes under worker's compensation. The man's doctor apparently recommended he use the Wii Fit exercise device, but both insurance companies and the government itself have blocked the payment and have now ridiculed the idea as paying for video games. But with the Wii Fit increasingly being used for rehabilitation purposes internationally, does the man have a fair case?"

Comments

He should be careful what he wishes for...

[ls671]

He should be careful what he wishes for, apparently there might be a risk of ending up like this women:

http://idle.slashdot.org/story/10/04/15/146236/Woman-Claims-Wii-Fit-Caused-Persistent-Sexual-Arousal-Syndrome

Re:He should be careful what he wishes for...

[nospam007]

"Persistent arousal is no laughing matter. Being aroused on a continual basis and wanking until your penis is raw?"

You could try to get a job at the SEC.

It's probably cheaper than the alternatives

[dingen]

I'm not saying they should condone it, but a Wii is probably a lot cheaper than any other form of treatment or medication. Just saying.

Re:It's probably cheaper than the alternatives

[erroneus]

EXACTLY what I was going to say. It's probably 10x cheaper than other treatments/devices. I can see the other side -- it's like medical marajuana -- people come out of the woodwork with faked conditions to get a prescription. Wouldn't want to start a land-rush. Next thing you know there will be "medically certified" Wiis out there costing 5x as much as the same thing "off the shelf" and on and on. Paying more now might avoid a rush that could cause a much bigger problem.

Re:It's probably cheaper than the alternatives

[Kirijini]

I don't get it. The man's doctor recommended he use a wii. Why shouldn't the government or insurance pay for it as part of his workers comp? If they're gunna pay for him to receive treatment, why are they making such a big fuss about something his doctor recommended?

They are spending way more money (time and resources) on fighting it than they would if they just bought the damn thing. Seriously, a Wii and a Wii Fit are equivalent dollar-wise to probably between one and two hours of lawyer-time. The cost of having various flackeys come up with reasons why not paying for the wii is the right thing to do, writing that out for the rejection letter, press releases, internal memos, etc. all adds up too.

Frankly, the AU government and/or the insurance company is wasting its money - not only in fighting the payment for a wii, but in the way it approves or rejects payments. The process should be really simple: Did the doctor recommend it? Do we have any reason to suspect the doctor? Is there a clearly less expensive substitute that still fulfills the doctor's recommendation (i.e., a Wii not custom fabricated out of gold)? Is the payment less than x (x being the cost of rejecting the payment and winning a typical subsequent legal challenge)?

All of these questions are really easy and would take up less than 5 minutes of a reviewers time. They would also weed out most fraud.

Re:It's probably cheaper than the alternatives

[Anonymous Coward]

You cannot return a used joint but you can return a used Wii.

Just make them return the Wii once treatment is over. You don't get to keep "free" wheelchairs after you've recovered either.

Re:It's probably cheaper than the alternatives

[tibit]

And you can use crutches as beating sticks, too.

Re:It's probably cheaper than the alternatives

[dingen]

Yeah, but people aren't standing in line to get crutches now, are they?

Re:It's probably cheaper than the alternatives

[RKThoadan]

Have you ever used/played Wii Fit? Depending on the exercise I'm quite sure you can't get a similar amount of reliable feedback from anything other than medical grade equipment. It tracks your center of balance precisely and can tell you if your doing the exercises correctly. Sure, you can do the exercises without it, but you can't get that reliable feedback on how well your doing. Depending on what kind of rehab he needs that feedback could be vital.

Re:It's probably cheaper than the alternatives

[vadim_t]

If a doctor(never mind whether the doctor is reputable, he is a doctor) recommends that I do heroin to help with my stubbed toe, should the government and insurance companies pay for it, simply because some
doctor says that it would help rehabilitate me?

Yes. I don't see why insurance companies should be in the business of deciding who needs what treatment. That's what the doctors are for. If a doctor finds that a somewhat unusual method gets the right results cheaply, then that's fine with me.

Now, if the doctor is prescribing the wrong things, or for the wrong reasons, go after the doctor and revoke their license.

Any exercise that this man could do on a Wii Fit is an exercise he could do without it. If he ends up getting one, I can only hope he is forced to give it back once he has been fully rehabilitated.

You're saying it as if the alternative to the Wii was simply no Wii. No, the alternative would be a licensed therapist, who probably charges per hour a significant part of the cost of a new Wii + Wii Fit. So the Wii, if it works is actually by far the cheapest option.

Re:It's probably cheaper than the alternatives

[Crewdawg]

My wife works in Occupational Therapy and they utilize the Wii for hand eye coordination with people recovering from strokes, as well as other injuries. It provides immediate feedback of both fine and gross motor skills.

If there were more specific "games" designed around therapy I think there it would be a valid mechanism for treatment. I'm not sure Wii Fit and Super Mario Party are maximizing the potential.

Re:It's probably cheaper than the alternatives

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly. The whole exercise part of the Wii is questionable at best. Even Miyamoto himself said that it's very unlikely that Wii Fit would actually improve someone's health, but that it's a starting point, a catalyst if you will, to put people on the right track.

No, Wii Fit is not a replacement for something like running or lifting weights. But it absolutely is useful for basic mobility exercises and balance training, which is what a lot of physical/rehabilitative therapy is.

Re:It's probably cheaper than the alternatives

[MBGMorden]

In this case the stairs had had water tracked in from it raining outside that hadn't been cleaned up. When coming down the stairs when you don't even know it's been raining, hitting a soaking wet stair and your foot slipping isn't exactly too far fetched. There was no lawsuit. Worker's comp picked up the tab because THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET INJURED AT WORK.

Thanks for playing though!

Re:It's probably cheaper than the alternatives

[drsmithy]

I'm with the government on this one. If there's a need for low cast at-home virtual rehabilitation systems, perhaps the market should make some?

It has, apparently - the Wii.

No! Come back when it's been medical-ized

[zippthorne]

It's not medical equipment unless it's covered in ugly, pink "medical grade" plastic and exposed polished stainless steel tubes. Also, it must have an impossible-to-clean membrane keypad. And cost four thousand dollars, and can only be rented for one thousand dollars a month.

Then and only then should the government pay for his rehabilitation tool.

Yes, and no.

[Phoenix]

Since the Doctor suggested the Wii Fit, then I have no problems with the idea of the Government pay for the Wii Fit. If this were in the US, then I would agree that the Insurance company pay for it.

HOWEVER!

Since the Wii can be used for more than just the physical fitness applications, the Wii itself should not be paid for.

Re:Yes, and no.

[clemdoc]

If I break a leg, I get crutches (if necessary)[1]. After I don't need them anymore, I have to give them back or pay for them. Same thing for the wii -> problem solved.
[1] In Austria. YMMV

injured man's wii?

[yanyan]

He was doing it wrong.

Better than one of those expensive devices...

[Hurricane78]

Hey, it’s better than the $15000 a “officially accepted” device would cost, that would do the same job.
I say, it is completely irrelevant what the device was “supposed to be’. What counts is:
1. Did it help him?
2. Was it not pointlessly expensive?
And as it looks like that’s a yes, and a yes, I say: If you’d pay a “official” device, of course it should be paid. And you should be thankful that he didn’t take the $15000 device. ^^

No, the government shouldn't pay.

[psnyder]

Because the man can do the same exercises without the Wii, without the game.

Wii Fit is like a cheap personal trainer/motivator. No competent doctor is going to recommend it as a full replacement for a rehabilitation therapist. But they may recommend it as healthy, daily exercise. The same thing can be accomplished by handing the man a pamphlet, except Wii Fit motivates better.

Yes, Wii Fit should be recommended to motivate patients. No, a government shouldn't pay for this "extra motivation".

Re:No, the government shouldn't pay.

[Aladrin]

I sort of agree with you, but playing Devil's advocate for a moment... The same motions that you go through at a "rehabilitation therapist" can be done without one as well, but they still pay for those when appropriate.

I'm actually okay with the device being a loaner that is owned by the hospital/doctor, and is expected to be returned in full working order after rehab is done. I'm not okay with the government/insurance buying him a video game machine to keep.

Re:How can it be cheaper than FREE?

[icebraining]

Except he doesn't need to lose weight, but to perform rehabilitation exercises. Have you even read the title?

Re:Rehaib hospital push

[icebraining]

I hate video games!

So what? You don't have to score points, just perform the motion and ignore the "game".

No, he shouldn't get it paid for.

[YojimboJango]

The doctor recommended that I cure my overweightness + bad knees with a elliptical machine (told me to quit running, it's bad for me). Insurance will not pay for the $3000 machine, nor will it pay for a gym membership.

Doctors recommend things that you should do on your own. Doctors prescribe things that are necessary. His doctor only recommended a Wii, he did not prescribe one.

Also stupid because the court case is gonna cost way more than the $300 a wii with wii fit would cost.

Re:Rehaib hospital push

[Kozz]

Broke my hip on the ice this winter. When I was in rehab they got me up and forced me to play a stupid bowling game on the wii. I hate video games! They seem to think anything that motivates you to get up and be more active is a good thing. ( Oklahoma, USA)

You could probably get equivalent exercise by chasing the neighborhood kids from your lawn.

Re:Hmm...

[anagama]

Worker's comp is a form of insurance.

Typically, it also comes with the provision that you cannot sue your employer for negligence, so business gets an enormous perk, and workers get fixed up so they continue to be productive for themselves and their families. Anyway, only complete retard would say that it would be better to be able to sue a company for millions, than pay $300 for a Wii.