June 19, 2025
It may not happen every day that REquipment has exactly what someone needs when they need it. But we hear it often enough to put wind beneath our wings. Hopefully, this story will inspire you, too. It’s about the power of reuse and the REquipment community to change lives. Working together, we can take action to keep this kind of magic possible in the Commonwealth.
In March, a mom requested a walker from REquipment after learning that the pediatric equipment clinic would be unable to evaluate her two-year-old daughter for six months.
The evaluation, of course, would be just the start of the paperwork. The family’s insurance would then undergo its authorization process.
Routine healthcare bottlenecks and insurance procedures would mean that her daughter, “Sara,” would not have this walker in time for the start of preschool in the fall. Months of essential gross motor and cognitive development would be delayed for lack of a small posterior walker.
Happily, REquipment disrupts business as usual in healthcare. Massachusetts residents see what they need on our program website, request it, and receive it for free. No insurance or prescription necessary.
In this case, Sara benefited from the serendipity made possible by our community of REquipment program users. Thanks to this community, our inventory had exactly what Early Intervention knew Sara needed, and thanks to our crackerjack staff, she got it in time. Sara had the small posterior walker in three days.
Sara’s mom says she moved from cruising to walking quickly, and three months in, she is having a complete blast with that walker. Sara’s teachers will be chasing after her in the classroom, a good thing. Independent mobility means empowered curiosity, greater spatial awareness, problem-solving, and self-confidence. Sara is off to a solid start.
This kind of timely intervention is the very basis for the value of Early Intervention services. However, it takes a village to accomplish. Even a village of programs all shaking hands with one another.
There’s much more to Sara’s story, and we will share it in the coming weeks. For now, how do we keep these successes rolling?
The answer is we share our successes with the Joint Conference Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature. And we do it NOW.
The Conference Committee is about to decide the fate of the REquipment program’s funding. At stake is $500,000, along with earmarking for the REquipment Durable Medical Equipment and Assistive Technology Program, Inc.
If the Joint Conference Committee does not support the Senate’s budget recommendation and agrees with the House’s (which falls short), the program will be devastated. These funds support the bones of the program: staff salaries, gas for vans, drop-off sites, and more.
Please contact your state lawmakers and ask them to support REquipment in the FY2026 budget by advocating for the program with the Conference Committee members. Your message is especially urgent if you live in a community represented by a member of the Conference Committee.
They are:
Constituents from the Fall River area –
Senator Michael J. Rodrigues
Senate Ways and Means Chair
Michael.Rodrigues@masenate.gov
Phone: (617) 722-1114
For Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester –
Senator Joanne M. Comerford
Jo.Comerford@masenate.gov
Phone: (617) 722-1532
For Duxbury, Hingham, Hull, Marshfield, Norwood, Scituate, Weymouth, Cohasset –
Senator Patrick M. O’Connor
Assistant Minority Leader
Patrick.OConnor@masenate.gov
Phone: (617) 722-1646
For Downtown Boston –
Representative Aaron Michlewitz
House Ways and Means Chair
Aaron.M.Michlewitz@mahouse.gov
Phone: (617) 722-2990
For Essex, Manchester by the Sea, Gloucester –
Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante
Ann-Margaret.Ferrante@mahouse.gov
Phone: (617) 722-2380
For Brimfield, Holland, Wales, Ware, Sturbridge, Warren –
Representative Todd M. Smola
Todd.Smola@mahouse.gov
Phone: (617) 722-2100
Here is a template for what you might say or write:
“I’m [calling Senator NAME or Representative NAME] to urge them to please advocate with the Conference Committee to include the Senate budget’s $500,000 earmark and funding to the REquipment Durable Medical Equipment and Assistive Technology Reuse Program, Inc..
“DME and AT reuse are critically important to the well-being of people with disabilities, seniors, children, and families across Massachusetts, and they support the planet. Please help prevent this devastating cut. We can’t afford a $500,000 cut to DME/AT reuse. Line item 4120-4000 needs $14,827,398 to be fully funded.
“I know how important this program is… [provide a story of your own if you have one.] Thank you for your advocacy for REquipment, Inc.”
An easy way to take action is to use the Disability Policy Consortium’s Action Center. There, you simply enter your address and customize an auto-generated email that can be sent automatically to each of your state legislators, as well as the six members of the Conference Committee.
Thank you for taking action. Thank you for making more success stories like Sara’s possible. REquipment is your program.
Acting together, we can keep it.
