Just Got a CC Charge from Apria!

Stevoreno_55 wrote:

Scootergirl wrote:Well, my provider called back - my balance with Apria is zero. You would think that's a good thing....but actually it's because they charged my credit card for the 521 AND another 70.75. Tomorrow I will be faxing a letter to apria to cease and desist. How I'm going to get my supplies is another matter - I have no idea. One thing at a time - right now my priority is to get them from continuing to charge my card.

I'm pretty sick to my stomach right now

You're going to fax a "ceast and desist" letter to Apria tomorrow? What kind of a letter do you plan to fax them? Telling them to stop billing your CC? As I stated previously I would not fax them anything; I would instead mail them what you plan to fax them by USPS Certified Mail with a RRGC; [ Return Receipt Green Card ] attached; send your documents to them and have them sign for them. Faxing will prove nothing; they might receive your fax but then again they could also claim they never got your fax. Send them a certified letter with a RRGC attached; don't fax them anything. Sounds like your situation with Apria is beginning to get serious.



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
05/13/14

Thanks, Stevoreno, I plan to do both the fax and the RRGC. I don't know how serious the situation is, I'm trying to take the steps I need to to protect myself and insure my CPAP therapy and supplies.

jencat824 wrote:

Stevoreno_55 wrote:

Scootergirl wrote:Well, my provider called back - my balance with Apria is zero. You would think that's a good thing....but actually it's because they charged my credit card for the 521 AND another 70.75. Tomorrow I will be faxing a letter to apria to cease and desist. How I'm going to get my supplies is another matter - I have no idea. One thing at a time - right now my priority is to get them from continuing to charge my card.

I'm pretty sick to my stomach right now

You're going to fax a "ceast and desist" letter to Apria tomorrow? What kind of a letter do you plan to fax them? Telling them to stop billing your CC? As I stated previously I would not fax them anything; I would instead mail them what you plan to fax them by USPS Certified Mail with a RRGC; [ Return Receipt Green Card ] attached; send your documents to them and have them sign for them. Faxing will prove nothing; they might receive your fax but then again they could also claim they never got your fax. Send them a certified letter with a RRGC attached; don't fax them anything. Sounds like your situation with Apria is beginning to get serious.



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
05/13/14

I would suggest doing both. First FAX & get a printed confirmation # then mail a copy of all documents & a copy of the confirmation #, with using Stevoreno's suggested method.

I would ask for a reversal of that charge & ask that they file insurance as initially agreed. They agreed to do so by checking your insurance coverage.

Apria has again proven themselves to be crooks. No wonder the have been nicknamed Craparia.

Good luck,
Jen

Thanks Jen, I will do that. I also have my credit card company filing disuptes on every charge - they've already credited my account. My insurance provider gave Apria the correct information to submit - why that needed to be done is beyond me - you would think Apria would be used to dealing with insurance, and it's not like I have a no name insurer - it's Horizon. Right now Apria thinks they've been paid. I'm guessing when they find out they haven't and I keep filing disputes, they'll get a clue. In the meantime, I will take Stevoreno's suggestion and do both the fax and the RRGC.

I pulled the plug on Apria yesterday, and hired my new provider today (ACS Medical)
The only contracted Medicare provider in town for cpap, this is a two person office, austere, no pretense.
I'm looking forward to doing business with them.

chunkyfrog wrote:I pulled the plug on Apria yesterday, and hired my new provider today (ACS Medical)
The only contracted Medicare provider in town for cpap, this is a two person office, austere, no pretense.
I'm looking forward to doing business with them.

Glad you could go to another provider. I had a hard time finding a provider in my area, so that's why I'm with Apria. My branch office is very helpful, and my RRT also very helpful. My husband was the voice of reason last night - as long as Apria gets the correct insurance info (which for whatever reason, they didn't have) then my insurance covers 100 percent. So this calmed me down. My Credit card company assures me that I can dispute till the cows comes home or until apria gets their act together. And I will be researching this issue and other possible DME's that might cover my area - I didn't have much luck with that the first time around. My first question to them would be do you require a credit card on file - otherwise, there is no point in my jumping ship to go from the one situation to the same.

Scootergirl wrote:

chunkyfrog wrote:I pulled the plug on Apria yesterday, and hired my new provider today (ACS Medical)
The only contracted Medicare provider in town for cpap, this is a two person office, austere, no pretense.
I'm looking forward to doing business with them.

Glad you could go to another provider. I had a hard time finding a provider in my area, so that's why I'm with Apria. My branch office is very helpful, and my RRT also very helpful. My husband was the voice of reason last night - as long as Apria gets the correct insurance info (which for whatever reason, they didn't have) then my insurance covers 100 percent. So this calmed me down. My Credit card company assures me that I can dispute till the cows comes home or until apria gets their act together. And I will be researching this issue and other possible DME's that might cover my area - I didn't have much luck with that the first time around. My first question to them would be do you require a credit card on file - otherwise, there is no point in my jumping ship to go from the one situation to the same.

Scootergirl:

I totally agree. The only billing dispute that I ever had with Apria years ago was over a water chamber for my Philips Respironics DS400S CPAP machine. Apria kept sending me a bill for $92.00 for it; their bills said the part was not covered. I kept telling them the part was covered because I knew it; after my insurance got involved they found out that Apria was submitting the incorrect billing codes for the part; after 2 months of back and forth with Apria Apria finally straightened their mess out. That was the only time I got aggravated with dealing with Apria; the next time I received a water chamber from Apria while they were my DME I never had to go through that mess again.


Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
05/14/14

Why is Apria no longer your DME?

Guest wrote:Why is Apria no longer your DME?

That is none of your d**n business.



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
05/15/14

Stevoreno_55 wrote:

Scootergirl wrote:

chunkyfrog wrote:I pulled the plug on Apria yesterday, and hired my new provider today (ACS Medical)
The only contracted Medicare provider in town for cpap, this is a two person office, austere, no pretense.
I'm looking forward to doing business with them.

Glad you could go to another provider. I had a hard time finding a provider in my area, so that's why I'm with Apria. My branch office is very helpful, and my RRT also very helpful. My husband was the voice of reason last night - as long as Apria gets the correct insurance info (which for whatever reason, they didn't have) then my insurance covers 100 percent. So this calmed me down. My Credit card company assures me that I can dispute till the cows comes home or until apria gets their act together. And I will be researching this issue and other possible DME's that might cover my area - I didn't have much luck with that the first time around. My first question to them would be do you require a credit card on file - otherwise, there is no point in my jumping ship to go from the one situation to the same.

Scootergirl:

I totally agree. The only billing dispute that I ever had with Apria years ago was over a water chamber for my Philips Respironics DS400S CPAP machine. Apria kept sending me a bill for $92.00 for it; their bills said the part was not covered. I kept telling them the part was covered because I knew it; after my insurance got involved they found out that Apria was submitting the incorrect billing codes for the part; after 2 months of back and forth with Apria Apria finally straightened their mess out. That was the only time I got aggravated with dealing with Apria; the next time I received a water chamber from Apria while they were my DME I never had to go through that mess again.


Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
05/14/14

Stevoreno,

It seems like a similar issue - they had my group number wrong or some such and there for my insurance never got any bills. Once I calmed down, I realized that this happens everywhere - just not with the financial impact it had this time. My dentist always bills my CC, the insurance sends me the check. They have my CC on file - I don't object to that. So, other than Apria screwing up the insurance, they didn't charge me imaginary charges. Thinking about it rationally, they did what would be done if someone didn't have insurance. Thankfully, it can be proven that I do, and they supposedly will fix it. I think I wouldn't have calmed down if my CC company didn't immediately open the disputes and refund the charge to my account. I will say - when I ordered my supplies that the person I spoke to say Apria would investigate and send me a refund - I said I hoped not, since they aren't actually going to get PAID from my CC. LOL. So, I wouldn't be surprised if I did get a check at some point. That I would have to send back. And I also wouldn't be surprised if that ended up being more of a pain in the butt than this has been. Time will tell.

When I placed yesterday's order, the central ordering line had to transfer me back to my branch - and my branch is fantastic. I did try to call them when this started but since the switch to the central ordering, everything gets routed somewhere else. That's why I reached out to my RRT, who just happened to email me with information about respironics/sleepmapper. She was wonderful - even though she doesn't have anything to do with billing, she went and made sure that things were being taken care of, that there were extensive notes on my account and said to please let her know if it continues and she would get me help. Could have been all fluff, but I have a genuine like for my RRT, and I think putting my therapy into perspective - that comes first - along with the billing issues - that can be fixed, really helps here.

This might not be the last problem I have with Apria. But as I'm looking around - not finding anyone else near me who can provide what I need for my therapy, I have to keep what's most important in mind. It's a shame that big companies can make this much trouble for people. But they aren't any different from any other big company out there, unfortunately. I would like to get through compliance, get into a routine with my CPAP and keep my eyes open for the DME that would work best for me. That all will take some time, I'm sure. Besides - with insurance changes that are inevitable, I'm quite lucky that I have the coverage I do and I suspect it will likely change with the way employers are dealing with who they choose for insurance and how much they contribute.

Reading my posts here and all the replies have really help - I was so upset when this started and being able to listen to all your advice and really go back and logically look at this has helped so much. Thanks!

Scootergirl wrote:

Stevoreno_55 wrote:

Scootergirl wrote:

chunkyfrog wrote:I pulled the plug on Apria yesterday, and hired my new provider today (ACS Medical)
The only contracted Medicare provider in town for cpap, this is a two person office, austere, no pretense.
I'm looking forward to doing business with them.

Glad you could go to another provider. I had a hard time finding a provider in my area, so that's why I'm with Apria. My branch office is very helpful, and my RRT also very helpful. My husband was the voice of reason last night - as long as Apria gets the correct insurance info (which for whatever reason, they didn't have) then my insurance covers 100 percent. So this calmed me down. My Credit card company assures me that I can dispute till the cows comes home or until apria gets their act together. And I will be researching this issue and other possible DME's that might cover my area - I didn't have much luck with that the first time around. My first question to them would be do you require a credit card on file - otherwise, there is no point in my jumping ship to go from the one situation to the same.

Scootergirl:

I totally agree. The only billing dispute that I ever had with Apria years ago was over a water chamber for my Philips Respironics DS400S CPAP machine. Apria kept sending me a bill for $92.00 for it; their bills said the part was not covered. I kept telling them the part was covered because I knew it; after my insurance got involved they found out that Apria was submitting the incorrect billing codes for the part; after 2 months of back and forth with Apria Apria finally straightened their mess out. That was the only time I got aggravated with dealing with Apria; the next time I received a water chamber from Apria while they were my DME I never had to go through that mess again.


Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
05/14/14

Stevoreno,

It seems like a similar issue - they had my group number wrong or some such and there for my insurance never got any bills. Once I calmed down, I realized that this happens everywhere - just not with the financial impact it had this time. My dentist always bills my CC, the insurance sends me the check. They have my CC on file - I don't object to that. So, other than Apria screwing up the insurance, they didn't charge me imaginary charges. Thinking about it rationally, they did what would be done if someone didn't have insurance. Thankfully, it can be proven that I do, and they supposedly will fix it. I think I wouldn't have calmed down if my CC company didn't immediately open the disputes and refund the charge to my account. I will say - when I ordered my supplies that the person I spoke to say Apria would investigate and send me a refund - I said I hoped not, since they aren't actually going to get PAID from my CC. LOL. So, I wouldn't be surprised if I did get a check at some point. That I would have to send back. And I also wouldn't be surprised if that ended up being more of a pain in the butt than this has been. Time will tell.

When I placed yesterday's order, the central ordering line had to transfer me back to my branch - and my branch is fantastic. I did try to call them when this started but since the switch to the central ordering, everything gets routed somewhere else. That's why I reached out to my RRT, who just happened to email me with information about respironics/sleepmapper. She was wonderful - even though she doesn't have anything to do with billing, she went and made sure that things were being taken care of, that there were extensive notes on my account and said to please let her know if it continues and she would get me help. Could have been all fluff, but I have a genuine like for my RRT, and I think putting my therapy into perspective - that comes first - along with the billing issues - that can be fixed, really helps here.

This might not be the last problem I have with Apria. But as I'm looking around - not finding anyone else near me who can provide what I need for my therapy, I have to keep what's most important in mind. It's a shame that big companies can make this much trouble for people. But they aren't any different from any other big company out there, unfortunately. I would like to get through compliance, get into a routine with my CPAP and keep my eyes open for the DME that would work best for me. That all will take some time, I'm sure. Besides - with insurance changes that are inevitable, I'm quite lucky that I have the coverage I do and I suspect it will likely change with the way employers are dealing with who they choose for insurance and how much they contribute.

Reading my posts here and all the replies have really help - I was so upset when this started and being able to listen to all your advice and really go back and logically look at this has helped so much. Thanks!

Scootergirl:

I hope that everything works out for you with Apria.



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
05/15/14

Stevoreno_55 wrote:

Guest wrote:Why is Apria no longer your DME?

That is none of your d**n business.



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
05/15/14

That makes your story more credible.

Stevoreno_55 wrote:Scootergirl:

I hope that everything works out for you with Apria.



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
05/15/14

Thank you, Stevoreno.

Today I got another robo-call from Apria.
I will probably have to tell them to send me a statement so I can figure out how THEY messed up!

--And today, I received telephone confirmation that my supplement already paid them,
which means Medicare did previously. If they take the bait and send me a bill,
guess who gets a copy? Yep, Medicare!

Would you two boys put your junk away before I tell Mother Superior!
That's one place you don't want a ruler smack!!

chunkyfrog wrote:Would you two boys put your junk away before I tell Mother Superior!
That's one place you don't want a ruler smack!!

Me thinks that IS the problem - no one has told her; so please do.