Reimbursement CloudCuddle

Reimbursement from the Social Support Act: persistence pays off

The CloudCuddle bed tent is sometimes reimbursed by municipalities under the Social Support Act.

Bas Ottens and his wife Els discovered the CloudCuddle bed tent two years ago. Their son Dorian was almost one year old at the time and still fitted into a camp bed. Because they knew that this would change, they oriented themselves on the existing possibilities. They studied the benefits of the CloudCuddle, including the possibility of reimbursement for this aid. It was a long road, but after two years of perseverance they succeeded. Last week the municipality of Loppersum sent the redeeming message: CloudCuddle will be reimbursed. Exactly on time. Dorian really doesn’t fit in his camp bed anymore.

The beginning – application for reimbursement via the WMO

“First of all, we applied at the WMO office,” says Bas. “Fortunately, the counsellor understood the urgency of a facility such as CloudCuddle. However, both she and the legal expert from the municipality saw no possibility of fitting it into the Wmo. Not even when we stressed how important it was to maintain the quality of life for the whole family.”

The sequel – application to the insurer

“In consultation with the Wmo-consultant we agreed to approach our insurance company first. If they rejected it, we could apply to her again. She was open to reviewing the situation again. The application to the health insurer (Ditzo) came to nothing – as expected. Also the supplier of medical aids (Atlas Kidtech) who had previously provided Dorian with these did not succeed. So we went back to the municipality again.”

Finally – back to the WMO

“We used the CloudCuddle sample letter. With the help of Dorian’s occupational therapist, we made it more personal and adapted it to his situation. We also had it signed by the rehabilitation doctor at the UMCG. He thought it was a logical story and did not hesitate to sign it. This way we had a good, consistent and widely supported application. It was a time-consuming phase because of the rewriting, the testing, making appointments and a vacation for the Wmo-consultant. On his return he presented it to the municipal executive. A golden touch because that resulted in a green light in the form of a PGB. It is worth mentioning that we had to give permission for full access to our data”.

Reimbursement via Wmo logical: CloudCuddle leads to lower costs

“What I would like to emphasize in conclusion: civil servants and especially insurers should realize that the care for Dorian becomes cheaper with a CloudCuddle. Just because of the fact that we can now confidently place him with a private nurse. That’s much cheaper than a sleepover. And what do you think it does for our peace of mind and therefore our health if Dorian can stay with his grandparents? Not to mention savings during vacations. Such as expensive destinations that are designed for children with disabilities or savings on additional aids that you can request. For a high-low bed you easily pay 500 – 600 euros for two weeks. That’s an easy sum to do.”

Common sense

“Somehow I always trusted that things would work out and common sense would eventually prevail. Fortunately, that has become truth. I wish all parents in a similar situation much strength and hope that common sense can also be found outside of Groningen.”

Tip

If we had received zero response again, we would have approached Stinafo.
An organization with a fund for facilities endorsed by a rehabilitation doctor.