Scary insurance Bill

[robbieh]

Just wanted to add my shock at the amount my DME is charging for my CPAP therapy compared with how much it would have cost on CPAP.com.

OptionCare Prices Total charge: My charge:
Optilife mask w/headgear $155.00 $69.25
CPAP tubing 6 ft $61.53 $39.79
CPAP headgear in box $59.62 $5.78
CPAP filters 2 ct $45.99 $1.56
Totals $322.14 $202.13

CPAP.com Prices Total charge:
Optilife mask w/headgear $89.95
CPAP tubing 6 ft $15.00
CPAP filters 6 ct $13.99
Totals $109.61

I am still in shock. I gave back the Optilife Mask and tried several others which I also gave back. Now I am worried what the total charge is going to end up being. I wish there was a way to have known what the charges would be before I agreed to accept equipment from a DME when I could have gotten the same things from another source without using insurance for half as much. Granted I did have a lot of personal help from the RT. No wonder our healthcare costs are so high. sigh

[SisterShotgun]

I got one similar to yours

Tomorrow I will go to TriCare and ask if I can use cpap.com for supplies..

[Sergey45]

[quote="robbieh"]Just wanted to add my shock at the amount my DME is charging for my CPAP therapy compared with how much it would have cost on CPAP.com.

OptionCare Prices Total charge: My charge:
Optilife mask w/headgear $155.00 $69.25
CPAP tubing 6 ft $61.53 $39.79
CPAP headgear in box $59.62 $5.78
CPAP filters 2 ct $45.99 $1.56
Totals $322.14 $202.13

CPAP.com Prices Total charge:
Optilife mask w/headgear $89.95
CPAP tubing 6 ft $15.00
CPAP filters 6 ct $13.99
Totals $109.61

I am still in shock. I gave back the Optilife Mask and tried several others which I also gave back. Now I am worried what the total charge is going to end up being. I wish there was a way to have known what the charges would be before I agreed to accept equipment from a DME when I could have gotten the same things from another source without using insurance for half as much. Granted I did have a lot of personal help from the RT. No wonder our healthcare costs are so high. sigh

[jabberwock]

Robbie,

The cost being charged to the insurance company is certainly highway robbery, but if it makes you feel any better, your math is a little out... you paid a total of $116.38 out of pocket (assuming the numbers are right and the addition was wrong). So you only ended up paying $6.77 more than if you had purchased the items on internet and not involved your insurance.

Of course, a reasonable person would expect to pay substantially less for an item that is covered by insurance

Bonnie

[Hunter1]

Your case is the very reason I did not use my insurance to pay for my cpap equipment. I did not want the hassel of getting a "beginner machine." I wanted the best machine made.

I used cpap.com and got the machine the next day. Since I had not slept in 30 years, I did not want to prolong my agoney any longer.

Managed health care is killing us.

Hunter1

[robbieh]

omg... I made a huge mistake in my price listing... the charge for the Optilife Mask was $155 and I was charged the full price... $155. I put the wrong figure in there on that one. My charges were $155 for the mask which included the headgear, had an additional charge of "CPAP Headgear included in box" $59.62 - my share was only $5.78 for that. Strange that my insurance covered headgear but no mask...

My totals were:
Optilife mask...........$155.00
Tubing......................$39.79
Headgear..................$59.62
2 Ult fine filters............$1.56 (they charged $45.99 making them $23 ea)
for a grand total of ...$202.13 for a copay

The actual charges were $322.14
Insurance supposedly paid $120.01 for what CPAP.com would have charged $109.61. Did everybody get ripped off? Is that how much insurance costs for administering their plans? What happened to my 20% copay? I think I will do a little calling around on this one.

[snoregirl]

Always do your research before buying anything including medical supplies.

You can always call your insurance and the DME and get prices before you agree to take stuff.

I don't walk out of the car dealer with a car and wonder what I will owe later.

[luneman]

My private inssurance policy doesn't cover CPAP (go figure), but I feel that I still come out ahead by paying for my own therapy through CPAP.COM. Especialy when I see instances like those!

[Snoredog]

good thing you didn't buy an iPhone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YaR6vB5l6E