Talked To Apria Almost Fell OFF MY CHAIR

[bwexler]

I have been going round and round with Apria, my Medicare Advantage insurance and my primary doctor for months, complaining about the perpetual rental on my PRS1 960 ASV machine.
So I called Apria today to find out what it might cost for an oxygen concentrator since they refuse to provide fiters for my old concentrator that they did not provide. She told me they don't sell them they only rent them and she could not look up the rental fee until after I placed an order and got it approved. After much cajoling she finally gave me the cash customer price for the O2 concentrator, ONLY $4,134.50. What a bargain.

So I figured we are on a roll so I ask "how can I convert my PRS1 960 to purchase instead of perpetual rental?"
She puts me on hold again. Comes back and says the insurance has already paid in enough to convert to an OWNED machine. Than she warns me, if I do this Apria will no longer provide support for the machine. I said great, since they never have provided support for the machine yet.
Now I can evaluate my Medicare Advantage choices without concern for my PAP machine. That removes the major obstacle in gathering the out of pocket cost info, since no one ever knows what a PAP will cost from a DME until after you have it.

[chunkyfrog]

More reasons to give Crapria the boot.

[bwexler]

I don't have a spare boot to give them.
Plus, They are the only in network DME and I may still need supplies and masks.
I may change insurance in January so I will see.
If there pricing on masks is like the O2 Concentrator I may be forced to go to CPAP dot com.

[palerider]

After much cajoling she finally gave me the cash customer price for the O2 concentrator, ONLY $4,134.50. What a bargain.

have you shopped around at all? you can get o2 concentrators pretty inexpensively these days, and better on craigslist.

[Tulip]

I have Apria. My previous CPAP supplier does not accept my new health insurance. I have only used Apria for masks, tubes and filter so far. My ResMed S8 has a On/Off switch that is not working properly. I have used this machine for the past 3 1/2 years on a nightly basis, but received the machine about 9 years ago. I couldn't get used to it at that time, so put it away. I have a call into Apria to set up an appointment to order a new machine. I also want to check out a couple of different masks. I need a full face one. I wonder about the Dream Weaver and a nasal pillow one, Mirage I think it's called.

I wonder if I will have a problem with Apria.

Any suggestions for new machines/models? Has anyone tried the Dream Weaver full face mask?

Thanks

[bwexler]

have you shopped around at all? you can get o2 concentrators pretty inexpensively these days, and better on craigslist.

I already have an O2 concentrator that works just fine. We were trying to get Apria to provide new filters and they said not unless they provided the new concentrator. It may be cheaper to just buy my own filter.

Has anyone tried the Dream Weaver full face mask?

Yes I have used the Circadiance SleepWeaver Anew FFM It was OK when I was on straight APAP at 12 cm H2O max but not so much on my ASV where pressures can exceed 20 cm H2O. I have also used the Sleepweaver Elan which I realy liked on APAP, it was my favorite.

Now I do better with the Wisp nasal mask. And after a couple months with a chin strap I no longer need it.

[library lady]

bwexler, I believe you have a medicare advantage plan right now.. so do I (UCare), and when I got my PRS1 in February my DME told me that a 13-month rental is required by Medicare, which is what the MA plans work with. DME told me that after 13 months I will own the machine. Crapria is pulling your leg... call your insurance company and find out from them what the rental period is. I am paying $18 and change for the rental each month, UCare is paying the rest, and in March I will make my last rental payment.

[Janknitz]

I have Apria. My previous CPAP supplier does not accept my new health insurance. I have only used Apria for masks, tubes and filter so far. My ResMed S8 has a On/Off switch that is not working properly. I have used this machine for the past 3 1/2 years on a nightly basis, but received the machine about 9 years ago. I couldn't get used to it at that time, so put it away. I have a call into Apria to set up an appointment to order a new machine. I also want to check out a couple of different masks. I need a full face one. I wonder about the Dream Weaver and a nasal pillow one, Mirage I think it's called.

I wonder if I will have a problem with Apria.

Any suggestions for new machines/models? Has anyone tried the Dream Weaver full face mask?

Thanks

You ever hear this old gem? "It's not news if dog bites man but it is new if man bites dog". If you don't have trouble with Crapria that's news! They have earned their nickname well.

You may find, for example, that they don't carry the Dreamweaver and won't order it either (but you should check to be certain they haven't changed).

Be sure you read my blogpost "what You Need to Know BEFORE you meet your DME. There are some newer models for ResMed and PR's than I listed.

[allen476]

While in theory it sounds nice to own your own O2 concentrator, they do require maintenance. Some tips if you are going to buy your own.

1) Make sure that you can buy the filters. I found that Amazon has the most common ones for Respironics and Invacare.

2) When considering buying your own, look at the maintenance schedules. I found that the Respironics Everflow Q required the least. Sieve beds only need to be replaced at 50,000 hours and filters were cheap. Whatever brand you are looking at, look for the parts first to make sure that you can get them. Almost all manufacturers will not sell the parts to patients so it is hard to find them especially for off brands.

3) Make sure that the unit has an OPI (oxygen purity) sensor. Otherwise you will have to buy a very expensive device to test the oxygen purity.

4) Most to almost all DME's won't touch a concentrator if you didn't buy it from them. So be prepared to fix it yourself if it fails and you might be without O2 for a few nights while you are waiting for very expensive parts.

I still rent mine. Insurance pays for it. They come every three months to change the filter and test it. I was thankful when it crapped out one morning at 6AM and had a new unit at noon the same day. I was told that if they didn't have a unit that they would provide me with bottles until it was fixed all at no additional charge.

[chunkyfrog]

Our sponsors carry the Sleepweaver masks, and they can be bought through the Circadience site as well.

[Sir NoddinOff]

While in theory it sounds nice to own your own O2 concentrator, they do require maintenance. Some tips if you are going to buy your own.

Accurate BioMed in the mid-west will service oxygen equipment, as well as all major CPAP machines. They've had a long and honorable presence on CPAPtalk. You can PM them at member name: Accurate or go to their webpage:

http://accuratebiomed.com/about.htm

To my experience, they do good work at reasonable prices. A good contact if you call them is Jennifer. They have some various and sundry used machines for sale from time to time which are usually not all listed on their website, so it's best to ask. Last time I looked their prices were in line with secondwind dot com.

[bwexler]

bwexler, I believe you have a medicare advantage plan right now.. so do I (UCare), and when I got my PRS1 in February my DME told me that a 13-month rental is required by Medicare, which is what the MA plans work with. DME told me that after 13 months I will own the machine. Crapria is pulling your leg... call your insurance company and find out from them what the rental period is. I am paying $18 and change for the rental each month, UCare is paying the rest, and in March I will make my last rental payment.

You are correct. I have been calling and discussing this with my insurance, my doctor and the doctors medical group and Crapria for months. None of them would admit to knowing anything about costs or term of rental. Finally a month ago I got to someone in the billing department at Crapria who explained the perpetual rental. Last night the billing department girl at Crapria admitted the 13 month option that I was hoping for. She said she would send me a letter to confirm my ownership and the end of the rental arrangements. I have climbed back up to my chair and am waiting anxiously for the letter setting me free.

[chunkyfrog]

Just an FYI, advantage plan restrictions take precedence over Medicare rules.

[bwexler]

So I figured we are on a roll so I ask "how can I convert my PRS1 960 to purchase instead of perpetual rental?"
She puts me on hold again. Comes back and says the insurance has already paid in enough to convert to an OWNED machine. Than she warns me, if I do this Apria will no longer provide support for the machine. I said great, since they never have provided support for the machine yet.
Now I can evaluate my Medicare Advantage choices without concern for my PAP machine. That removes the major obstacle in gathering the out of pocket cost info, since no one ever knows what a PAP will cost from a DME until after you have it.

Miracles never cease. I received the letter from Crapria stating I now own my PRS1 960 ASV machine.
Now that I actually have it in writing I can move on and stop worrying about how this machine will affect my choices.

[Sir NoddinOff]

Miracles never cease. I received the letter from Crapria stating I now own my PRS1 960 ASV machine.
Now that I actually have it in writing I can move on and stop worrying about how this machine will affect my choices.

I'll bet somebody at Crapria got the sack because they didn't rake you over the coals to the max. Maybe your paid-off machine was a computer glitch... whatever it was, congratulations. It pays to be persistent.