How many CPAP users exist, and how much profit do DMEs make?

[webbie73]

Some people take advantage of their insurance and stockpile supplies in their closet. Often you see them being sold. This causes everyones insurance premiums to go up and benefits go down.

Not everyone who stockpile supplies might be doing it to sell their supplies and make money! Some might be doin for the time they have to pay out of pocket until they reach their deductible.

One of the main reasons your insurance goes up is the uninsured and those on social services. Who do you think pays for them? YOU by premium increases.

[Midnight Strangler]

Not everyone

Yeah, that is why he said,

Some people

Sheesh.

[palerider]

One of the main reasons your insurance goes up is the uninsured and those on social services. Who do you think pays for them? YOU by premium increases.

you seem to be confusing taxes and premiums.

[Deep Sleep]

It would interesting to know how many masks are returned to the manufacturer, not to mention how many CPAP machines are returned used because of some insurance companies insisting on starting out on CPAP and having it fail before authorizing bilevel, and the same for ASV.

[webbie73]

One of the main reasons your insurance goes up is the uninsured and those on social services. Who do you think pays for them? YOU by premium increases.

you seem to be confusing taxes and premiums.

No I am not

[Gasper62]

When an aspirin tablet is billed for by a hospital at $94.00 so they can compensate for the deadbeats and/or the uninsured that use the Emergency Dept. as their primary care provider, the insurance companies compensate for that gouging by............ yeah, you guessed it.

[LSAT]

Some people take advantage of their insurance and stockpile supplies in their closet. Often you see them being sold. This causes everyones insurance premiums to go up and benefits go down.

Not everyone who stockpile supplies might be doing it to sell their supplies and make money! Some might be doin for the time they have to pay out of pocket until they reach their deductible.

One of the main reasons your insurance goes up is the uninsured and those on social services. Who do you think pays for them? YOU by premium increases.

You are out of your mind......insurance has nothing to do with the uninsured and those on social services......your taxes pay for that!

[ChicagoGranny]

When an aspirin tablet is billed for by a hospital at $94.00 so they can compensate for the deadbeats and/or the uninsured that use the Emergency Dept. as their primary care provider, the insurance companies compensate for that gouging by............ yeah, you guessed it.

Get someone to explain to you the difference between what is billed and what the insurance companies allow.

So no, we did not guess it. wink wink

[Gasper62]

When an aspirin tablet is billed for by a hospital at $94.00 so they can compensate for the deadbeats and/or the uninsured that use the Emergency Dept. as their primary care provider, the insurance companies compensate for that gouging by............ yeah, you guessed it.

Get someone to explain to you the difference between what is billed and what the insurance companies allow.

So no, we did not guess it. wink wink

I don't need to guess what my insurance paid towards a cheap-ass CPAP hose ($7.25 at CPAP.com) .......they paid $23.91 ! No wink.

[ChicagoGranny]

I don't need to guess what my insurance paid towards a cheap-ass CPAP hose ($7.25 at CPAP.com) .......they paid $23.91

So you are the one driving costs up! You were knowledgeable and could have paid a measly $7.25. Instead you chose to participate in the system. Shame.

[chunkyfrog]

My (former) insurance company sent me a letter, reminding me I could get replacement supplies from my (then) DME.
At the time, my deductible was outrageous, and I was buying supplies AND NEW MASKS from cpap.com.
I guess somebody was feeling butt-hurt--like it was MY problem!

[accurate]

Thought I toss in some anecdotal info on profit margins for DME:

Years ago I was looking into opening a small DME in Bethany Missouri. I called an owner of a fairly large regional operation and asked him what a well run company in the industry could expect to make. He told me that if you watched expenses like a hawk and ran efficiently one could make a 50% net profit.

A couple of years later (when competitive bidding was going through congress) this same person was actively involved in the lobbying effort DME's were mounting to defeat that legislation. Being from the upper Midwest he knew and was meeting with then Senator Tom Dashaele. Senator Dashaele basically told this guy that Congress was tired of Medicare allowing DME's to make that level of profit and that the congressional target was 20% net.

What they make now, I have no idea. But, with the level of reimbursement allowed by the implemetation of competitive bidding, I suspect that it's below the 20% mark and in some areas somewhat less than that. That's reflected by the increase in retail sales in a lot of brick and mortar DME's to try to shift revenue away from Medicare.

[Midnight Strangler]

Years ago I was looking into opening a small DME in Bethany Missouri.

Population 3,000 and an hour and a half from any mid-size city. What were you going to sell? Three CPAPs per year. Try living off that "50% net profit"!

[webbie73]

Some people take advantage of their insurance and stockpile supplies in their closet. Often you see them being sold. This causes everyones insurance premiums to go up and benefits go down.

Not everyone who stockpile supplies might be doing it to sell their supplies and make money! Some might be doin for the time they have to pay out of pocket until they reach their deductible.

One of the main reasons your insurance goes up is the uninsured and those on social services. Who do you think pays for them? YOU by premium increases.

You are out of your mind......insurance has nothing to do with the uninsured and those on social services......your taxes pay for that!

"But when an uninsured person is in crisis and cannot pay, that burden falls upon the insured population, the hospitals, the doctors and the government. And these billions of dollars of "uncompensated care" drive up health insurance premiums for everyone."

A quick google search will produce many statements such as the above.

[Midnight Strangler]

A quick google search will produce many statements such as the above.

122,000 statements are produced from a very quick search of "mules are jackasses".

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=mules+are+jackasses