My 5-year-old daughter should be thinking about her first day of kindergarten—not whether she will have the medical equipment she needs to get there.

She recently underwent a major pelvic osteotomy and now faces six weeks of bed rest and  in almost a full body cast  as her little body heals. Despite everything she has already endured, she is still looking forward to starting kindergarten in November. She wants to go to school, see her friends, learn, and be a normal 5-year-old.

Imagine being told that your child needs a wheelchair, having a prescription from her medical team, and knowing exactly what equipment would help her recover safely—only to discover that you still can’t get one.

Not because the equipment doesn’t exist.

Not because your child doesn’t medically qualify.

But because you live too far away or only need the equipment for a few months.

Distance should not determine whether a child receives medically necessary equipment.

Where a family lives should not determine whether a child receives medically necessary equipment.

If a doctor determines that a child needs a reclining wheelchair, specialized bed, mobility device, or other medical equipment, there should be a reasonable pathway for that child to receive it—regardless of whether the supplier is 10 miles away or 100 miles away.

And if the equipment is only needed for three months, that shouldn’t make the child any less deserving of receiving it.

Short-term medical needs should not be a reason for denial.

How can a child be medically eligible for equipment, desperately need it, and still be unable to get it simply because of where she lives or how long she needs it?

No parent should have to fight this hard to get a medically necessary piece of equipment for their child. And no child should have to go without it.

What we are asking for

We are calling on insurance companies, durable medical equipment providers, healthcare systems, policymakers, and state and federal leaders to work together to eliminate these barriers.

We are asking for:

1. No geographic barriers for medically necessary equipment.
Families should have access to equipment even when their nearest supplier cannot serve their area.

2. Short-term rentals for children who medically need them.
A child should not be denied equipment simply because their recovery period is shorter than a company’s preferred rental period.

3. A required alternative when a provider cannot help.
If one supplier cannot serve a family because of distance or rental duration, there should be a system for identifying another provider instead of leaving parents to figure it out alone.

4. Faster assistance for children with urgent medical needs.
Families should not spend weeks making phone calls while their child is waiting for equipment prescribed by their medical team.

5. Policies that put the child’s medical needs first.
Administrative convenience should never outweigh a child’s documented medical need.

This is bigger than one family.

Today, it may be a wheelchair.

Tomorrow, it could be a specialized bed, walker, lift, shower chair, or another piece of equipment a child desperately needs.

Every parent should be able to focus on their child’s recovery—not spend countless hours trying to convince companies that their child’s medical needs are worth accommodating.

Children deserve access to the equipment that helps them heal, attend school, get to medical appointments, and participate in everyday life.

A short-term need doesn’t make that equipment unnecessary.

Living farther away doesn’t make a child’s medical needs less important.

Medical equipment should be provided based on medical necessity—not ZIP code or rental length.

Please sign this petition.

By signing, you are asking decision-makers and medical equipment providers to remove these barriers and create a system where children can receive medically necessary equipment when they need it—regardless of where they live or how long they need it.

No child should be left without necessary medical equipment simply because their recovery doesn’t fit inside a provider’s service area or rental policy.

Let’s make access to medical equipment about the child—not the distance, the paperwork, or the length of the rental.