Rental Period Over?

[Birddog]

My machine was paid off in august and i'm wondering how long they feel is long enough to put in for a new one,not that i will for 4-5 years but i wonder what the amount of time is an insurance co thinks is long enough and will pay for rental of new machine again for a year or are you on your own after they pay for first machine.

I have over 3100 hours for first year so i would figure maybe they expect like 15000 hours? what do you think is about standard?

[sthnreb]

The machines are under warranty for 2 years so, probably 3-4 years. I understand they supply new hoses every 2-3 months and masks maybe 6 months. I use the same ones normally, I do swap hoses sometimes and clean the one I was using and store it for later. I probably don't swap the filters often enough. I have a friend that has had one for either 2 or 3 years and is going to see if he can get a new one. Will see I guess. I'm sure there is a time. If it's usage, I use mine every night so it gets used. It may be up to the DME on the accessories. Mine has 4,791 hours and I believe it is slightly over a year old. I had to return one under warranty because it would stop for no reason. Actually, I swapped about 4 for stopping. I had run a dedicated circuit for it. I began checking out the circuit and the wiring was fine. I did replace the breaker which seemed touchy on kicking off. After that I've not had any problems with this last one except for when the power flickers. I guess I will soon find out all of this.

[DME_RT]

CPAP and APAP are both billed the same through Medicare, so your DME should not have changed your machine billing around at the point of change.
Medicare pays for 13 months and then it is yours, there really isn't anything that gets done once you reach that 13 month mark.
Most machines come with a 2 year warranty, and then Medicare pays for repairs for 3 years after the warranty is out. Medicare covers a new CPAP machine every 5 years.

[sthnreb]

That's correct. I just talked to a friend of mine tonight about it. He told me every 5 years. Of course, his DME said if he got a back that someone turns in, he would let him use it until his 5 years are up. I believe he has 2 years left. I didn't know Medicare paid for repairs after the warranty period. That's good to know. I saw 2 friends tonight and they both said their machines cost them nothing. Maybe supplimental kicked in the difference. Plus they get accessories every 6 months, masks, hoses, filters, etc. I think their DME calls them and asks. I'm going to contact them for mine too I think. I know Cpap and Bipap, what is Apap? Auto?