supplemental oxygen at night

[puzzled]

hello. This is a follow up to "sp02 82%"
We had the home sleep sp02 test light night. The company downloads the data to IDS, and in less than an hour they have their "interpitation", that the dr uses
to justify his rx to medicare. While we find out my mom did not get as low as 82% like last time, this time she got down to 85% and stayed there for better
than a half an hour. Books says equal or below 88 for 5 minutes total, qualifies.

But here again, things can't go smooth..............

I do have a local supplier......medicare and your supplement will pay for it, you sign a contract for 5 years, the last two, medicare does not pay, and they
"write it off"......but here are some things that rub me the wrong way. first, you have no say so as to brand, and if it is new or not. The one I want to get
is by inogen, it is small, 18 pounds, and only uses 100 watts, and is very quiet. The group, most likly uses a brand that uses 300 watts, is heavy 36 pounds
or more, and bulky. They give you a couple of E cylinders for standby, but at 2L the E will only last 5 hours. You can not use a conserver for nitetime
sleep, since it may not pick up a flow trigger.
Next problem, what if you travel....she needs to go to a regional hospital for a procedure in a couple of weeks, now are you expencted to drag the unit
around ? one place said they will provide tanks, but that's a pain, plus, one tank will not last a night, so you'll have a back seat full of o2 tanks.
another supplier said they would provide a portable one, like you wear, for their customers, IF they have one available, they only had several of them.

BUT....here is what really gets my goat........I can buy a new unit for about 600 to 700 the same model we will be getting. Yes I have to order it from a state
or two away....but they stand behind it for 3 years (one unit 5 years) if you have a problem, you call, they fed express you out a unit, and you keep it
untill yours is repaired that you sent in.
The oxygen supplier charges $325 a month !!!!!!!!, medicare pays $180, suppliment kicks in some......in less than 6 months, medicare could have paid
for a new one in less than a year...why not buy a new one everyone every year.....cheaper.....they claim they need to be worked on, but new
every year, but what would be the repair expense.

so.....tempted to buy one ourself, but what would be the advantage ??

I was told if i did buy one i could submit for payment to medicare, and run a good chance to get reimbursed.

Then the problem on traveling.

the portable units are about $2400......i would rather have one of those paid for, but they will not pay for that for supplemental.

so..........what to do ???

[palerider]

Next problem, what if you travel....she needs to go to a regional hospital for a procedure in a couple of weeks, now are you expencted to drag the unit around ?

what hospital doesn't have their own oxygen?

[puzzled]

will need to get to the town a couple of days before for radiology and labs, not in hospital, then they would rather have us stay in town a couple of days when
she is released, since we are over 300 miles away.

[palerider]

will need to get to the town a couple of days before for radiology and labs, not in hospital, then they would rather have us stay in town a couple of days when
she is released, since we are over 300 miles away.

standard concentrators aren't any worse than a carryon suitcase, these days.

[Enchanter]

How do we know if we need supplemental oxygen?

[Julie]

After thorough testing, the doctor will tell you, but it's highly unlikely you'll need it, not being older, not having COPD or serious, already diagnosed cardiac issues, not having otherwise shown any signs of needing it. You're a young person (to most of us ) with (likely) plain old sleep apnea... and why not just leave it there until further notice. Stop looking for trouble - you seem to be getting into a whole new cycle of anxiety and that will make you sick, not the apnea.

[M'ohms]

When I was put on supplemental O2, I called my insurance company and requested an outright purchase instead of a rental. When it was approved, I told my DME, who was preselected by their willingness to do an outright purchase and provide my machine of choice, that my insurance pre-approved the purchase and they verified it immediately. I ended up paying for it about 3 months later after insurance settled, which was about $100.

I have taken it with me on several trips, and like Palerider said, it's no more cumbersome than a mid-sized suitcase.

[palerider]

I have taken it with me on several trips, and like Palerider said, it's no more cumbersome than a mid-sized suitcase.

"that's a funny lookin carryon suitcase you have there... but aren't they so much nicer since they put wheels on 'em"

"um... yeah."

[M'ohms]

I have taken it with me on several trips, and like Palerider said, it's no more cumbersome than a mid-sized suitcase.

"that's a funny lookin carryon suitcase you have there... but aren't they so much nicer since they put wheels on 'em"

"um... yeah."

Funny lookin' is an understatement! And yeah, thank God it's got wheels!

[puzzled]

sorry but we are not going to drag a almost 40# bag around, and has four little wheels on them. The contract states they need to provide o2 when and where
needed. Research I have done, shows the unit we would be using, I can order for $639....they charge in excess of $200 per month, for 36 months, and
"out of the kindness of their heart", giving use 2 free years. By the time you figure in excess of $200 a month, plus "allowable fees", in the 3 years they
will take in close to $8000....for nothing, they have little if any cost over those years, the unit are backed from a 3 to 5 year guar.....so making that much
money, they will not get a couple of the small portable units for their customers to use. It rubs me the wrong way where i have to pay $1800 for a portable
unit, and medicare is paying for that service.

Our local o2 companies, have no smaller loaner units, and that really makes me mad

Talked to a friend of mine who's father was on o2 a few years back, he had to drag his big unit with him, was having to pay the airlines over $100 to fly it, plus the
company had a fit, you are not to lean them over, or turn them upside down.

Anyone else on here have this problem, and what did you figure out as soluations ??

thank you !

[bwexler]

Thank goodness I only fly about once a decade.
My ASV keeps my O2 says in the high 80s or better. When I travel I leave my concentrator at home. You may not have that option. I haven't noticed what kind of PAP machine you are using, or weather you have your own oximeter. I do so I can do my own monitoring and have used my own reports to convince my insurance to pay for O2 supplies.
I think you need to get your ducks in a row before you go into battle with your DME or insurance, like I did.
Get your own recording oximeter (mine is a CMS 50i), generate Sleepyhead reports showing PAP compliance and O2 levels.
Then you can do battle with all comers to get what you need.
Never go to a gun fight with a knife, bring a bazooka.

[M'ohms]

Thank goodness I only fly about once a decade.
My ASV keeps my O2 says in the high 80s or better. When I travel I leave my concentrator at home. You may not have that option. I haven't noticed what kind of PAP machine you are using, or weather you have your own oximeter. I do so I can do my own monitoring and have used my own reports to convince my insurance to pay for O2 supplies.
I think you need to get your ducks in a row before you go into battle with your DME or insurance, like I did.
Get your own recording oximeter (mine is a CMS 50i), generate Sleepyhead reports showing PAP compliance and O2 levels.
Then you can do battle with all comers to get what you need.
Never go to a gun fight with a knife, bring a bazooka.

That is exactly the way I did it too. Unfortunately, I found only one DME who would accept my oximeter reports (I use the CMS 50i as well), even though my sleep doctor and insurance co. both accepted them! DME's really vary a lot in their business practices, so I second the advice to do your homework!

[puzzled]

sleep report did not show sleep apena, but only o2 levels drop....so no cpap equipment.

She is on medicare, so you must go by their rules. They will not accept your numbers, it must be done by a certified agency and read by a disinterested third
party, and then the doctor reads their report, and issues the rx.

we are in a rural area, and have several local suppliers/dme, but they are not big national outfits, so are limited, so that is why i suspect they do not have
things set up for travel...their big business are locals that are home bound and people in nursing homes.

We could maybe go with a national outfit, but they are over 70 miles away. Then, not that handy, must give 2 weeks notice where you are going, and they will
try to have a store in the area deliver a concentrator (home style) unit delivered to your locations. tanks are of little use, had to handle, plus, a larger one,
such as an E, will not do a whole night at 2L flow.

[bwexler]

I am on a Medicare Advantage plan and have trained my doctor, my insurance company and even my brother in laws Kaiser sleep doctor to accept my reports and act on them.
It takes a bit of training from me to whip the pros into line, but they are getting more helpful all the time. I have even convinced the local manager at Crapria to pay attention to me.

[MagsterMile]

I can tell you of an experience my mother had with a DME for oxygen supplies. This was about 12-14 years ago I believe. We took a trip to north central Iowa to visit with family and visit cemeteries locating family members. We called ahead to the DME and they arranged to have oxygen tanks delivered to our various hotel stops a long the way. Everything went very smoothly and we were able to leave the oxygen tanks at the front desk when we departed for the next part of the trip. Incredibly, the DME was Apria.