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Module
Objectives
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 Discuss
the principles of purchase price and market size.
Explain
the purchase process of Assistive Technology.
Present
health-related sources of funding, including government
health insurance and private medical insurance.
Focus
on employment-related sources of funding, including vocational
rehabilitation and workers' compensation insurance.
Summarize
educational sources of funding.
Discuss
alternative sources of funding, including the Veteran's
Administration, community service organizations, and
alternative funding.
Present
additional information and resources for funding options.
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Purchase Price
and Market Size
Many functional
solutions for a person with a disability do NOT involve
highly sophisticated, high priced Assistive Technology (AT).
However, when the functional need is only met through a high
tech solution,
it is often an expensive solution.
AT specifically
designed for persons with disabilities is expensive. This is
not a conspiracy
against persons with a disability, rather a dramatic example
of the old economic principle of supply and demand. The fixed
costs
of product development, sales and marketing are spread across
all units sold. Depending on the size of the market, the purchase
will
be high if it those costs can only be spread over a small market,
or quite low when spread over a much larger market.
A great
example of a product which demonstrates the relationship between
size of
market and purchase price is voice input computer software.
In its infancy, when being developed and sold only to persons
unable
to use a key board, secondary to a physical disability, the
cost of the software alone was over $10,000. Due to mass market
appeal
for an efficient and effective alternative to keyboarding,
these same types of software programs are now available for
$100-200.
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