New Here.

Hello All!

I'm new here and interested in what I'm reading here. I have a few questions.

I have done a sleep study and was diagnosed with serve sleep apnea. The study was done in Feb of '06. My insurance is Medicare. When I had a cpap it was rented. I was told that I had to rent it out for 18 months before it's purchased out. I moved to another state and before I did I returned my cpap to the medical store since it was rented. Once I moved to my new location. I got a doctor. I told him about my study and it's results. He wrote me out a script for a CPAP + the 12 cm. Which I was using before. I went to a medical supply store. There they have CPAPs. They informed me that I'd have to go in for another study since my study is over a year old. I can't afford to take another study. The last 2 that I took set me back $500. I'm still paying off the hospital for those. In so many words can I purchase a CPAP from here and use the pressure that I used.

Thanks

Yes, you can.

https://www.cpap.com are an online shop, they are very reliable, their prices are good, and they don't care how old your prescription is, or when your study was made. Why your DME should care more than the doc is beyond me (well.... not really, but you ge my point)

cpap.com are also the hosts of this forum - and if you stick around long enough you'll discover they're pretty amazing - no censorship, no meddling.

And no, I don't belong to the company; I learned to appreciate the forum and eventually bought from cpap.com - more than once.

See if you afford a machine the reports your nightly results - either on a screen or with software.

Good luck.
O.

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): cpap.com, DME, Prescription

ozij wrote:Yes, you can.

Great I'll call them tomorrow and talk to them personally.

See if you afford a machine the reports your nightly results - either on a screen or with software. I'll will get one that will have the auto pressure and the software. The software is nice so you can track your results and see if the pressure are using is working.

As for DME, I'm assuming they are the medical store. They had a respiratory therapist called me and told me "nope, we won't accept that script" Medicare will not pay unless you get another study done. I had to pay $16 per month renting it. I rather just pay out right for it.

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): medicare, DME, auto

Admiral, do you know the brand and model of the CPAP you returned? While it is true that Medicare RENTS (via capped rental) the CPAP unit, any humidifier, mask, etc. that you had were outright purchases. I hope you didn't return them too!! It may be that the humidifier could be used w/any new CPAP you buy. If it was an integrated heated humidifier you'd have to buy the same brand but not necessarily the same model.

For instance, if your CPAP was the Respironics RemStar Plus w/C-Flex, you could buy the RemStar Auto w/C-Flex (non-M series) and still use the same integrated humidifer. That would give you an autoPAP with full data capability.

Slinky wrote:Admiral, do you know the brand and model of the CPAP you returned? While it is true that Medicare RENTS (via capped rental) the CPAP unit, any humidifier, mask, etc. that you had were outright purchases. I hope you didn't return them too!! It may be that the humidifier could be used w/any new CPAP you buy. If it was an integrated heated humidifier you'd have to buy the same brand but not necessarily the same model.

I returned all of it. On the bill all of the items were rented except the mask. As for the model "Respironics" sounds familiar.

Admiral Ross... from another Admiral... I'm new to all this hosehead stuff but you've definitely found the right place to get any questions answered. Good luck with finding the right machine.

I know Medicare coverage is split into regions. In Michigan Medicare capped xPAP rental is for 13 months and it is ONLY the xPAP that is rented, the humidifier and all accessories are outright purchases.

Respironics and Resmed are the two leading CPAP manufacturers but that Puritan Bennett GoodKnight 420E has a reputation for being one honey of an autoPAP and well liked by those who have one.

The Resmeds are overpriced w/o insurance coverage so scout out the Respironics xPAPs. If you can an autoPAP might be the best way for you to go to avoid or delay the need for future PSGs.

Good luck!

Welcome Admiral! I like your avatar.

I have the Respironics M Series auto with C-Flex. It can also be used in straight CPAP mode. To be fair, I've only used this machine and it's CPAP equivalent, but I like it so far. It also seems to be reasonably priced on cpap.com, and I know they have bundle-deals where you can purchase a hose, humidifier, etc, with your machine and save some $$.
That's definitely what I would do if I didn't have insurance or didn't want to bother going through my insurance company.

I'd imagine that if you get an AutoPAP machine, along with the help and advice people on this forum are willing to provide, you'll probably be able to avoid having to go for another sleep study. There are alot of really great people here who are willing to help you take charge of your own treatment and get the most out of it.

Good luck!

PS- Next time you're on DS9, tell Dr. Bashir hi for me. Hee.

amandalee wrote:Welcome Admiral! I like your avatar.

It also seems to be reasonably priced on cpap.com, and I know they have bundle-deals where you can purchase a hose, humidifier, etc, with your machine and save some $$.
That's definitely what I would do if I didn't have insurance or didn't want to bother going through my insurance company.

I'd imagine that if you get an AutoPAP machine, along with the help and advice people on this forum are willing to provide, you'll probably be able to avoid having to go for another sleep study. There are alot of really great people here who are willing to help you take charge of your own treatment and get the most out of it.

PS- Next time you're on DS9, tell Dr. Bashir hi for me. Hee.

Thanks.

I've tried it first without the humidifier but I noticed I needed one. I started to use that and it helped. The bundle package is what I'm gonna go for.

So you're into Ds9, Great!