Are there physical retail stores that sell CPAP supplies?

Hindyg · Post by **Hindyg** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 11:25 am

Are there physical retail stores that sell CPAPs and CPAP supplies or are they mostly just available online?

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 11:41 am

Are you in the USA or somewhere else?

In the USA there are what we call brick and mortar stores that sell cpap stuff.
Some are Home Health aid stores that deal mainly with various home health needs but sometimes some cpap stuff can be found in little mom and pop pharmacies. I live near a small town...5,000 population and there is a mom and pop pharmacy that offers some home health aids and cpap masks are shown on their shelves on little mannequins. I don't know how much inventory they actually stock but I assume it is going to be limited and they are likely still going to require a prescription for the items packaged with the RX sticker.

So yes...there are retail stores out there depending on where you live. In the big city with population over 100k about an hour from me there are dozens of such home health aid stores. Some will stock cpap stuff and some don't.

Online is often cheaper though...less overhead costs lets them sell cheaper.

SewTired · Post by **SewTired** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 11:51 am

If you live in a Medicare bid area, it shouldn't be at all hard to find a place that will sell anything to you. However, you do need that prescription. Pricing won't be as low as online retailers.

chunkyfrog · Post by **chunkyfrog** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 1:50 pm

Sometimes, truck stops may have selected items, as drivers with apnea MUST be compliant, no matter what!

LoBattery · Post by **LoBattery** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 5:41 pm

Funny how people are spamming you to buy stuff online all the time, yet when you want to buy something they ignore you. I used cpap.com's online communication requesting a quote on an order and they have ignored me for a week.

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 5:54 pm

LoBattery wrote:Funny how people are spamming you to buy stuff online all the time, yet when you want to buy something they ignore you. I used cpap.com's online communication requesting a quote on an order and they have ignored me for a week.

maybe they don't like your attitude.

can't blame 'em.

LSAT · Post by **LSAT** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 6:02 pm

LoBattery wrote:Funny how people are spamming you to buy stuff online all the time, yet when you want to buy something they ignore you. I used cpap.com's online communication requesting a quote on an order and they have ignored me for a week.

Everything is clearly priced on their web site...why would you need a quote?

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 6:12 pm

LoBattery wrote:Funny how people are spamming you to buy stuff online all the time, yet when you want to buy something they ignore you. I used cpap.com's online communication requesting a quote on an order and they have ignored me for a week.

I've never had that problem. They've always been prompt and responsive.
In fact, in nearly 12 years, I've never had a problem with https://www.cpap.com

Den

.

Hang Fire · Post by **Hang Fire** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 7:48 pm

LSAT wrote:Everything is clearly priced on their web site...why would you need a quote?

I doubt old LoBattery knows WTH he is doing.

Rob K · Post by **Rob K** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 8:41 pm

Keep this in mind when your shopping. My insurance company does not cover supplies bought outside their network. So if I want to shop on the internet, I pay for it all myself and the cost does not go toward my insurance deductible. If I want to go through insurance than I need to shop with an in network supplier which typically costs around 4 times as much. Don't even get me started.

Midnight Strangler · Post by **Midnight Strangler** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 8:28 am

Rob K wrote:If I want to go through insurance than I need to shop with an in network supplier which typically costs around 4 times as much.

Costs who four times as much??

LoBattery · Post by **LoBattery** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 9:03 am

I may be stupid, but I'm not dumb enough to pay some of those prices, which are twice what I can buy them for. I figured there had to be an insurance price. This will be my first time ever ordering so I have lots of questions regarding insurance.

Are those the same prices as through insurance. Insurance is more of a discount card than them actually paying.

Do I have to switch to them as my sole DME for them to apply the copay or can I have multiple suppliers.

Do I have to order nasal cushions one at a time for it to apply to insurance or can I order multiple cushions at one time and save some shipping costs.

I was thinking of keeping my brick CPAP as a backup if I can build up my deductible quickly. I have just today to decide to return the rental. Now i can't make that decision.
So far it looks like I should skip insurance and just buy out of this guys garage.

linuxman · Post by **linuxman** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 9:07 am

Midnight Strangler wrote:
Rob K wrote:If I want to go through insurance than I need to shop with an in network supplier which typically costs around 4 times as much.
Costs who four times as much??

The patient or the insurance company, or both, depending on the situation. When filing through insurance the vendor will typically charge the rate negotiated with the insurance company as part of being "in-network". If the deductible has not been met, the patient pays this price. If the deductible has been met, the patient generally is going to pay 20% of that amount and the insurance company is going to pay 80%. If you have a policy with an out of pocket maximum, and you've reached that, the insurance company will be paying 100%. The point is that the brick and mortar stores that are typically in-network (or out for that matter) charge a lot for stuff..just in general. This is why I'm buying all supplies online...it's cheaper. Yeah, filing through insurance goes toward the deductible, but I'd have to buy two machines per year and way more supplies than required to even come close to my deductible. I don't know how things work for Medicare, so the calculus for that situation may be a lot different.

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 9:29 am

LoBattery wrote:Do I have to switch to them as my sole DME for them to apply the copay or can I have multiple suppliers.

You would have to ask your insurance company this question.

LoBattery wrote:Do I have to order nasal cushions one at a time for it to apply to insurance or can I order multiple cushions at one time and save some shipping costs.

Again a question for your insurance company.

If you want insurance to pay for anything or apply it to your deductible you need to be asking them what their rules are.
Rules can vary quite a bit between insurance companies and even within various plans offered by one insurance company.

JeffL · Post by **JeffL** » Mon Feb 06, 2017 10:32 am

CVS has some supplies on-line. You might check with them to see if they have or can get what you need in the store.

Are there physical retail stores that sell CPAP supplies?

Are there physical retail stores that sell CPAP supplies?

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