Machine Leasing the only possibility?

(Based on a horrendous SleepLab titration—lots of mask changes/mask leaks…) I have been prescribed a BIPAP ASV machine.

The only way I can get the machine seems to be to lease one (~$80/month for a year; then $80 every 6 months). I have been told that this machine is the end of the line (so to speak) so it seems that come hell or high water, there will be no other (more efficacious, more expensive,…) machine that I can be prescribed.

Is having to lease a machine (with no cutoff date!) a common experience?

Who is your insurance carrier?
There's a couple that do the every 6 month thing as a sort of service contract...perpetual rental which can come handy if the machine croaks after the warranty period.
I am thinking Aetna was one of those insurances that did that but don't hold me to it as I may be mistaken.
One of the other forum members has whatever insurance it was though....and they did the 6 month thing on her APAP machine.

Most insurance do the so many months of rental that gets capped after whatever time frame they use and then you own it.
Medicare does 13 months in most situations...other ins carries might do less...it all depends on the insurance.
When in doubt call up the insurance company and find out exactly what they do...don't ever rely on just the DMEs word.

If the expense is beyond reach, consider a lightly used bilevel machine from secondwindcpap.

Pugsy wrote:Who is your insurance carrier?
There's a couple that do the every 6 month thing as a sort of service contract...perpetual rental which can come handy if the machine croaks after the warranty period.
I am thinking Aetna was one of those insurances that did that but don't hold me to it as I may be mistaken.
One of the other forum members has whatever insurance it was though....and they did the 6 month thing on her APAP machine.

Most insurance do the so many months of rental that gets capped after whatever time frame they use and then you own it.
Medicare does 13 months in most situations...other ins carries might do less...it all depends on the insurance.
When in doubt call up the insurance company and find out exactly what they do...don't ever rely on just the DMEs word.

My particular flavor of Aetna does that. It really grinds my gears as they have never been able to articulate just what "services" they are providing me now (other than selling me nasal pillows periodically). They looked at me like I'd grown a second head when I asked for a firmware upgrade for my machine.

The amount of that is billed every six months is over eight hundred dollars, reduced to the Aetna "contract rate" of eighty something dollars, of which my copay is about eleven dollars (I hate this aspect of the medical industry in the USA).

I confirmed a while back with Aetna that if we ever lose our coverage with Aetna, Apria will be billing me the $800+ or so every six months. It was at that point that I started searching Craigslist for a backup machine (my spouse is getting close to retirement age). I actually found a better machine on Craigslist so Apria can have their old machine back if they ever get too uppity about the billing.

chunkyfrog wrote:If the expense is beyond reach, consider a lightly used bilevel machine from secondwindcpap.

a plain bilevel won't do what an asv does.

however, secondwindcpap has vpap adapt and prs1 autosv machines for around 1250$ish, which isn't a whole lot more than this open ended 'leasing' bs.

The recurring payments every 6 months is maintenance and service. If something happens to the unit after the 2 year warranty, the machine gets switched out. Your insurance does not cover a temporary loaner and/or repair costs because of the m&s.

Demerit wrote:The recurring payments every 6 months is maintenance and service. If something happens to the unit after the 2 year warranty, the machine gets switched out. Your insurance does not cover a temporary loaner and/or repair costs because of the m&s.

Apria has never maintained or serviced my machine in three-and-a-half years.