New guy getting a new machine

New guy with some questions, please bear with me. I thank you in advance for your patience.

About 12 years ago I had a sleep study done, was told I have sleep apnea and was given a Remstar machine. I barely used the thing - maybe 3000 hours over the next 12 years. The last couple years I've felt more & more tired (duh) and decided to get back on the machine. I told my dr., he sent me to have another sleep study done. It confirmed, that yes, I have OSA that is corrected with a pressure of "10" (I have no idea if that's high or low). Anyway, he put in a RX for a new machine (my son recently dropped my other one and it sounds like a leaf blower). He sent the RX over to a medical supply, they called & said it will cost me $500 up front, then $80 for the first month's rent then $40 bucks a month for the next 8 months. I asked what machine they were giving me, they said it's a Respironics P Series Model 220. I looked it up online and it's about $340 so I think they are hosing me. My dr said he'll give me a prescription and I can get whatever machine I want & then go to my insurance company and battle with them.

So... any recommendations on what machine to get? I want something with a humidifier. I'm not looking to get a Ferarri but not a Yugo either. Any help is appreciated, I don't even know what questions to ask.

I thank you again for your patience (if there is any left).

jackfuller wrote:, they said it's a Respironics P Series Model 220. I looked it up online and it's about $340 so I think they are hosing me.

that plus the fact that it's the crappiest piece of crap that respironics makes.

get a model that's 460 or higher from respironics. or a resmed s9 that's NOT an escape, or a resmed as10 that's NOT the cpap model.

with resmed, elite and autoset are the names to go with, preferably autoset.

with respironics, a model with 'auto' in the name (model 560) is best for most people.

$900 for a machine you can find for $340? Ummm...do you get the WHOLE 55 gallon drum of Vaseline with that deal??? Talk to your doc AND insurance company. See what the ins covers, and what comes out of your pocket. You might find you can get a better price for a machine with warranty (like thru cpap.com). Don't let the doc or DME bully you into paying triple what you might pay elsewhere.

First step is to talk to your insurance company and find out exactly what your deductible and copayment will be and which DMEs are in network. Also how they handle out of network purchase.
Then decide which machine and mask you want and have your doctor write the prescription for the exact model you want with heated hose and mask of patients choice, with the words "dispense exactly as written ".
You will want a copy of the prescription in your hands to keep along with a detailed copy of the sleep study.

Now you can choose a DME from the insurance company list and see how they respond, if you like what they say, complete the transaction. If not, go to the next DME on the list or to an online provider.

The machine I would recommend is the Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset for Her or the Philips Resperonics Series 1 model 560.
The Resmed is a new model at the end of 2014. The PR is about 5 year old model.

Thank you for your help, I appreciate it.