Went on Medicare Jan. 1st

[Okie bipap]

Good for you.

[Rickv]

Good for you.

And it only took me two months.

[chunkyfrog]

Thought I'd update this since I finally received my cpap supplies today. My sleep doctor's office found a study from 2009 that met Medicare's guidelines. They haggled back and forth with The DME but it got approved with me not having to do a home sleep study.

Sweeeeet!

[OutaSync]

Thanks for posting. I start Medicare tomorrow. I'm still using the same ASV that I got in 2008. It topped out at 19,999 hours about three years ago. I wonder what kind of hoops I'll have to jump through to get a new machine.

[Rickv]

Thanks for posting. I start Medicare tomorrow. I'm still using the same ASV that I got in 2008. It topped out at 19,999 hours about three years ago. I wonder what kind of hoops I'll have to jump through to get a new machine.

That's the next thing I am going go after. My A10 Auto is 7 years old and sometimes the exhale relief doesn't work.

[CountingSheep]

Sorry for my ignorance but what does “I went on Medicare” mean?

[chunkyfrog]

Sorry for my ignorance but what does “I went on Medicare” mean?

Government "sponsored" medical insurance for American retirees.
"Went on" is an idiom denoting that we have qualified for, and are enrolled in this insurance.
More explanation would be too challenging, as the rules are as complicated as a Gordian knot.

[Rickv]

Sorry for my ignorance but what does “I went on Medicare” mean?

It means I was forced off good insurance because of my age to government controlled insurance that doesn't want to me to have pay for my healthccare.

[prodigyplace]

Sorry for my ignorance but what does “I went on Medicare” mean?

It means I was forced off good insurance because of my age to government controlled insurance that doesn't want to me to have pay for my healthccare.

Weird. I went on Medicare Part A only and kept my health insurance from work.

[chunkyfrog]

Medicare been very very good to me.
My out of pocket for breast cancer surgery was about $20.
Had I still been working, the BCBS copay would have taken a gigantic bite out of my retirement fund.

[FifthAvenue]

Been on Medicare for 5 years. I have never had a problem with prompt and accurate claim payment including payment for CPAP equipment and supplies. Medicare and Social Security are examples of well managed government programs.

[chunkyfrog]

Sorry for my ignorance but what does “I went on Medicare” mean?

It means I was forced off good insurance because of my age to government controlled insurance that doesn't want to me to have pay for my healthccare.

"Cadillac" insurance plans do not last forever. (Unless you are in Congress)
Even if you are used to champagne, best to be grateful for beer, if it is all you can get.

[ChicagoGranny]

Medicare and Social Security are examples of well managed government programs.

--------->

Social Security Will Be Insolvent in Only 16 Years. Social Security cannot guarantee full benefits for current retirees. The Trustees project that on a theoretical combined basis, the trust funds will run out by 2035. That means the program will be insolvent when today’s 51-year-olds reach the retirement age and today’s youngest retirees turn 78. At that point, all beneficiaries will face a 20 percent across-the-board benefit cut, which will grow to 25 percent over time.
Social Security Faces Large and Rising Imbalances.
...
http://www.crfb.org/papers/analysis-201 ... ees-report

... in 2026, when the HI (Medicare) trust fund is projected to be depleted, incoming payroll taxes and other revenue will still be sufficient to pay 89 percent of Medicare hospital insurance costs.[1] The share of costs covered by dedicated revenues will decline slowly to 78 percent in 2043 and then rise gradually to 83 percent by 2093. This shortfall will need to be closed through raising revenues, slowing the growth in costs, or most likely both.

https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/me ... t-bankrupt

[Janknitz]

The DME should have told you to go ahead and get your supplies in December when you still had coverage and likely met your deductible. But you would have had to go through this whole rigamarole eventually anyway for Medicare to pick up any further CPAP costs, so I wouldn't be too upset with the DME.

If you do turn out to need a sleep study (looks like you won't), It's an outpatient testing procedure so you have a small deductible and a 20% co-payment for the Medicare amount (as long you use a lab/doctor certified by Medicare). Your supplemental insurance MAY pick up those out of pocket costs--check with your supplemental company to see if you have any out of pocket expenses.

Home studies are certified by Medicare, so they are accurate enough if your main issue is run of the mill OSA. If your 2013 study was borderline, I'd be a little concerned if you will hit the right numbers, so glad you don't have to now.