Reordering supplies craziness.

[knothead]

I had a hose that smelled funky and had black specks inside that would not wash out.
It was way overdue for replacement, so I did.

Ah, thats from pond water...

[chunkyfrog]

Yeah, it was my neighbor's kids.

[SewTired]

OK, after 7 months of the insanity of reordering supplies monthly, I've had it. Lincare has me on a schedule where cpap supplies are re ordered every month. So every month, I get the phone call and place my order. Got to keep track of items ordered, received, paid for by insurance, bills from Lincare being paid monthly. By the time the cycle is complete, it starts all over. It is time consuming to say the least. And that's if everything goes perfectly.
I've had enough and want a better, less time consuming system. I'd like to get it to where I order supplies 2X a yr. I've gotten the OK from my insurance co. Just wondering how others deal with the issue. I suppose my 6 month order would look like (following insurance replacement schedule)
1 complete mask
5 cushions
6 filters
2 long hoses.
1 water tub for humidifier.
It just seems so inefficient to be doing this every month.

I'm stuck with the monthly ordering slot because of Medicare rules, but I agree with others. Tell Lincare that you want OFF the call list because you only want to order twice a year. Your insurance company has agreed to this. YOU will call them.

As to what you need, it varies from person to person. I just cracked a new hose (I turned over and my machine threatened to fall off the nightstand, but the hose saved it). My cat insists on laying on the hose - she doesn't do anything to it, but someone else's dog might. Microperforations COULD change your pressure - I think you would see that in your Sleepyhead data though. I think it just depends on how rough you are on hoses, as well as your general environment. My brother found that most damage to his hoses occur where you attach it to the machine. As the lovable frog mentions, you can get crud showing up in there mysteriously - change your hose out. Otherwise, an annual replacement seem fairly reasonable. I'm for having 2 backups- just in case - because I occasionally travel and forget stuff.

As to how mold gets into a tube? You wash it. You hang it to dry. Mold spores are airborne. They can get into anything not sealed. Granted, the chances are low because you'll have 8 hours of blowing air running through it, but these aren't smooth hoses either. Nooks and crannies plus wear and tear on the plastic creating microspots for something to catch on to.

[Cardsfan]

well, some people say a hose can't get mold in it. Some say it can. I believe mold can get anywhere it wants to, including my hose.

[Slartybartfast]

I'm 5 years on my original heated hose. When it splits or doesn't heat, I'll replace it. Actually, I have a spare. Just haven't seen any reason to swap the old one out. I pay out of pocket.

[library lady]

I'm stuck with the monthly ordering slot because of Medicare rules, but I agree with others. Tell Lincare that you want OFF the call list because you only want to order twice a year. Your insurance company has agreed to this. YOU will call them.

Medicare Rules? I'm on Medicare, and I've never heard of that one. I don't order monthly, my DME has never called me to ask what I want to order. In the 18 months since I started, I've received one letter from the DME reminding me of the replacement schedule per Medicare, and I think they do that once a year.

[Janknitz]

I've been using the same hose for almost five years. I washed it once and realized THAT was inviting mold because it was really hard to dry it out. I don't have issues with rainout, so no problems with mold. I have replaced the hose I use for traveling, because those tend to pick up a lot of off and moldy smells from hotel rooms. I've learned to change that hose out after every trip.

[Pugsy]

Medicare Rules? I'm on Medicare, and I've never heard of that one. I don't order monthly

I think some DMEs probably stick very closely to the letter of the Medicare rules for equipment replacement allowance.
I am on Medicare but my DME sticks very close to exact wording...they used to just want to give me one nasal pillow replacement every 2 weeks due to Medicare's 2 per month allowance.
I have no doubt that they would also stick to a once a month cushion allowance for something else.
Filters the same way...they gave me one disposable filter.
It took some work to get them to give the 2 per month at one time and no way would they ever give out a 3 month supply of filters or replacement cushions or nasal pillows at one time
And they look back to see the exact day that I got previous allowance to make sure I am not requesting too soon. Anything over 1 day too soon and I have to wait till the time limit passes.

The never call me to bug me about "it's time to order replacements" though. They leave it entirely up to me to initiate a replacement request.

[patientadvocate13]

So I work for a local Dme company in the horseradish area. I have also worked for the companies mention in your post. The supplies list you mention is what your insurance will reimburse for less your deductibles and coinsurances. I do agree this can be excessive, and you may be able to purchase these produrcts online for less. It can be a double edge sword. You do pay premiums to have this coverage, but consumers do need be careful as to not take advantage of the services available via their insurance coverage. At the same time like some of the others mention planning for an emergency with back up disposable supplies, and even cpap units is a good plan. I think most of us go thru times of no insurance or high deductibles, keeping extra supplies may be handy in hard times. We do not offer auto shipping at our company, and only send out postcards for the 6mth reminder. I am not sure if it is a billing issue or what but if you want replacement cushions monthly you have to call monthly we don't do 5 cushions at a time for the most part. Hope this helps you some......

[CowFish]

patientadvocate13
Also Posted As:
(packer)
(SewTired)

What's the deal with the IP address?

[Cardsfan]

Success. I was able to adjust my ordering to get a 3 month supply at a time. No more monthly orders to track.

[patientadovacate13]

I am not sure, why it says that...1st time blogging....

[Pugsy]

I am not sure, why it says that...1st time blogging....

It's a little quirk in the forum software IP address and forum user name identification process.
Your IP address happens to match those forum members so the forum software thinks you are those people using another name.
You aren't the first to see this happen to and won't be the last.
Seems to affect members not logged in more than members who are logged in so you might log in and see what it says. So if you are already registered try logging in and if you aren't registered then go ahead and register.

[RobertS975]

One of my biggest peeves is that my DME gives me a robo-call about once a month where the recording simply asks if I want to reorder anything and everything that I "am entitled to"... I always hang up, because half the stuff I "am entitled to" would fits masks that I no longer use.