Is CPAP a scam of sorts? - my story

[kteague]

CPAP's and the entire Sleep Apnea arena is a rip off from doctors, clinics and hospitals to make money.

So, an anonymous poster resurrects a 2 year old thread with a contentious drive-by comment? Somebody must have been bored this weekend.

[JimW159]

CPAP's and the entire Sleep Apnea arena is a rip off from doctors, clinics and hospitals to make money.

You are absolutely right! Just as death is a scam to make cemeteries, embalmers, and funeral homes rich on the backs of the whole human race who, otherwise, would live forever. Nah! I think whoever said it first said it best: "...are you stupid?"

[Uncle_Bob]

CPAP is a scam. APAP is great

.... and can always be used in CPAP mode ...

[m13l1n1]

Well. Using cpap is voluntary. Nobody can force you to do it. Don't use it if you don't like it. It's not for everyone.

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

[338Baloo]

What an entertaining thread! I just hope someone new to all this does not lose hope and buy into the BS.

I will throw my hat in this ring. It took me having a nasty accident and a two week stay in the hospital to find out I had severe OSA (100+ AHI). Of course I had all the classic symptoms for many years, but I did not know any better. I started using my machine in February and immediately started finding reason to not use it. One day it clicked that I felt pretty good when I used it and felt kinda crappy when i did not. I finally became serious about using it and found that the effects would accumulate, both from missing nights and from consistent use. Now I rarely miss a night. I actually have a hard time falling asleep without the machine. I don't snore, I sleep all night, I am rested and clear headed during the day, I have energy to work out again, and many more benefits. IF it is a scam then color me duped. I am all in for the ride.

[rob cairns]

YES CPAP is the greatest con in the history of medicine. Do you know anyone who has seen a specialist who hasn't been told they have sleep apnoea. I think not.
One specialist has 6 beds at the sleep clinic, 100% occupancy 365 day/year at $1000/night. That's $2,190.000 per annum, just for the sleep test.

1. Raise the head of your bed 6 inches,
2. Have a standing fan ($30) blowing gently across your face all night. Better than a fan in a box with a six foot tube growing mold.
3. Turn onto your side

[KennyLLC]

TRYING TO POST HERE BUT THE USER NAME CONFIRMATION IS DESIGNED POORLY. WILL TRY TO EDIT MY POST IF THIS GOES THROUGH.

[4GN6N]

My 76 year old mother took two sleeping tests in the course of two weeks.
Then the machine was put on order through a contractor 50 miles away.
The machine is supposed to be be paid for by her supplemental insurance and has a microSD card that records her sleeping habits and breathing for future adjustments and insurance spying. Apparently they only pay by monthly installments so that if she accidentally falls asleep on the couch and is then awake all night the MicroSD card records that she did not use it that night. Then her insurance gets the readout from the SD card through the sleep center and sends the $5,000 bill to my mother.
I know someone who this happened to, so shut your damned mouths before defending these scam artists.
That being said: Much to my surprise she was supposed to recieve her machine within 10 business days after the sleep center put the order in.
That was over a month ago, and it STILL HAS NOT ARRIVED !
I wawill sue these people if my mother is harassed by these scammers and she dies due to their idiotic spying devices that cover these insurance company's asses !
If she gets the machine and later is billed $5,000 for it for their perceived misue I will contact the AMA, her insurance company, and the FTC alike.
Shame on these ACA scammers.
I guess they are waiting for someone to default on their usage and die so they can bring her CPAP machine.
They will rue the day that the ever met my mother.

[Bookbear]

And the original post that started all this is dated 2007.....

[chunkyfrog]

Yes, and the still-in-denial idiots are biting again.
Cpap SAVED MY LIFE.
But if somebody would rather DIE than use this therapy, go ahead; but STFU about it!

[Guest]

That was over a month ago, and it STILL HAS NOT ARRIVED !
I wawill sue these people if my mother is harassed by these scammers and she dies due to their idiotic spying devices that cover these insurance company's asses !
If she gets the machine and later is billed $5,000 for it for their perceived misue I will contact the AMA, her insurance company, and the FTC alike.
Shame on these ACA scammers.

Why wait sue them now. They are late go to your lawyer today.

Insurance pays by the month so if people stop using it they can return turn it so your (our) insurance does NOT pay for something sitting in your closet, got it?

It is called compliance - usu. in 30 consecutive days the cpap has to be used for >4hrs 70% of the time. in simple terms that is using the cpap 21 days out of 30 for > 4hrs. While it sounds difficult we have all been thru it. If it is used everytime one sleeps or naps (for 21 days) it is not hard at all.

Tho I will say the older you are when you start this therapy the more difficult it can be. And w/o knowing your moms results I will say that if you love her and don't want to see her linger until the end you will do everything in your power to help her succeed.

I suspect that sleep apnea leads to many, many health problems including alzheimer's, memory loss, forgetfulness, poor decision making, and mood swings to mention only a few.
Heart disease is another and just why do you think many people have heart attacks between 3 - 5AM? They weren't stressing their heart they were sleeping right?

You should also keep in mind this is often hereditary.

Just how long can you hold your breath?
How much time is that when you think about 50 yrs of doing this every night for 6-8hrs? You say she is 76 now? How much stress can your body take for all those yrs.?

Keep a level head. If you want help this is the place to come but you will need to put in some reading time and approach with a clear & level head.

[Janknitz]

The ACA has NOTHING to do with this. This is Medicare regulation and it's been in place long before the ACA.

Medicare does not want to pay for equipment that sits in the closet, doing nothing. So here's the deal:
1. Medicare requires adequate documentation of need--so your mom had one sleep study to diagnose sleep apnea, and a second study to determine the proper settings to treat her apnea. Medicare requires BOTH.
2. Medicare requires compliance. The CPAP machines are designed to track compliance so it can be reported to the doctor, who then must document the compliance for Medicare to continue payment. This requires a face to face meeting with her doctor in the first 90 days, and yes, the data is recorded on the machine so that the DME can get the data to provide it to her doctor. NO, falling asleep on the couch and not using it for one night will not cause her to have to pay for the whole thing--the compliance requirements are reasonable--at least 4 hours of usage over 70% of a 30 day period. Most people SHOULD be using it all night, every night with 100% compliance, but it gives some wiggle room for things like falling asleep on the couch or learning how to sleep with it, which is not easy in the beginning.
3. Medicare uses a "capped rental" scheme--sort of "rent to own". It requires that the machine be rented for 13 months, and at the end of that 13 month period then your mom will own the machine. This is another way to ensure compliance--if she's not using it, why should Medicare pay? Your mom will have a monthly co-pay that may or may not be covered by her supplemental insurance plan. At the end of 13 months, it's hers.
4. NOBODY is going to pay $5000 for this set up. NOBODY. That may be how much the DME bills, but that's called "fantasy billing". The DME is going to get exactly what Medicare allows, and not a penny more--around $1,500. It's still more than your mom would pay if she chose to buy the set up herself from an online supplier, but it also covers repairs and maintenance, set up and assistance, plus all the paperwork the DME is required to file to get Medicare to pay their share. And your mom's out of pocket expense for co-pays and deductibles MAY be less than she's pay out of pocket anywhere, depending on her supplemental policy. Sometimes it pays to shop around, but given your mom's age, she's better off to have hands on help from the DME (cough, cough) to get started.

Yes, your mom's DME are jerks for not getting the machine to her within the time frame they agreed to. So she learned her first valuable lesson--DME's are jerks and a pain to deal with. But cause for a lawsuit??? Good luck with that.

You're wasting a lot of effort getting angry about the wrong part of this. Medicare regulations are Medicare regulations. They were not put in place by Obama to annoy white people, they are an accumulation of many decades and many legislative schemata to "prevent Medicare fraud". You aren't going to get them changed to suit your convenience. You don't even know who the players are here. The real concern is WHICH machine your mom gets, whether she gets adequate support to use the machine effectively to maintain her health and reduce the likelihood of sleep apnea complications. Turn all that bluster and blow into supporting your mom to succeed with optimal PAP therapy so you have her around, and healthy, a little while longer.

My 76 year old mother took two sleeping tests in the course of two weeks.
Then the machine was put on order through a contractor 50 miles away.
The machine is supposed to be be paid for by her supplemental insurance and has a microSD card that records her sleeping habits and breathing for future adjustments and insurance spying. Apparently they only pay by monthly installments so that if she accidentally falls asleep on the couch and is then awake all night the MicroSD card records that she did not use it that night. Then her insurance gets the readout from the SD card through the sleep center and sends the $5,000 bill to my mother.
I know someone who this happened to, so shut your damned mouths before defending these scam artists.
That being said: Much to my surprise she was supposed to recieve her machine within 10 business days after the sleep center put the order in.
That was over a month ago, and it STILL HAS NOT ARRIVED !
I wawill sue these people if my mother is harassed by these scammers and she dies due to their idiotic spying devices that cover these insurance company's asses !
If she gets the machine and later is billed $5,000 for it for their perceived misue I will contact the AMA, her insurance company, and the FTC alike.
Shame on these ACA scammers.
I guess they are waiting for someone to default on their usage and die so they can bring her CPAP machine.
They will rue the day that the ever met my mother.

[robysue]

You're wasting a lot of effort getting angry about the wrong part of this. Medicare regulations are Medicare regulations. They were not put in place by Obama to annoy white people, they are an accumulation of many decades and many legislative schemata to "prevent Medicare fraud". You aren't going to get them changed to suit your convenience. You don't even know who the players are here. The real concern is WHICH machine your mom gets, whether she gets adequate support to use the machine effectively to maintain her health and reduce the likelihood of sleep apnea complications. Turn all that bluster and blow into supporting your mom to succeed with optimal PAP therapy so you have her around, and healthy, a little while longer.

Janknitz, thanks for saying this far better (with far less anger) that I would have been able to say it.

[HSE]

One word: Earplugs

[chunkyfrog]

The real scams are alternative treatments.
(Not listed here for space considerations)
We KNOW that cpap/apap works--end of story.