Know of a Machine with software, auto-tritation,heat Humid.

[cpapthomas]

I am a newbie. I've had a machine for 7 years, used it 3 days, back in 2003. I was not getting to sleep with it and put it in storage because when I learned to sleep without snoring (laying on my stomach and leaning my head over the side of the pillow so my face was somewhat looking down). I've got it out of storage again and started using it last week.
1. What machines would you suggest that had software, auto-triation, heated humidifier so I could get feedback on how I am doing each night?
2. I wonder if insurance companies cover the more advanced machines or just cover the basic ones like I have (REMstar plus with a mirage & ultra mirage RESMED mask that came with it). I'm going to call my insurance company and see how many masks they allow every year or ? and how often they allow for a new machine. Thanks for your answers.

[Janknitz]

Yes, insurance companies do cover more advanced machines and you are certainly due, BUT FIRST--you need a new sleep study. You cannot expect your body to be unchanged after seven years of untreated apnea, and the only way to ensure effective treatment at this time is to get a new sleep study. With the results of that sleep study should come a prescription for brand new equipment that will match the needs of your body now, not what your needs were seven years ago.

Insurance companies generally pay for machines and supplies by HCPCs codes. These are billing codes. The same billing code, E0601, applies to basic bricks that deliver straight CPAP pressures and collect nothing more than compliance information and to state of the art, high end auto-adjusting machines with efficacy data. The insurance is going to pay one amount no matter what you get, so they don't really care what you get.

The DME provider, on the other hand, makes a bundle if you get the low end, cheap brick, and not so much if you get the state of the art, brand new, all bells and whistles model. So guess which one they are going to try to talk you into. You will need a very well-written prescription for exactly what you want if you expect to get it.

So call a sleep doc, arrange for your new sleep study, and while waiting, click on the lightbulb in the masthead and start to educate yourself on the equipment that's out there nowadays and how to get exactly what you need and want.

[sleepnationtv]

Your insurance will pay for any machine that you want to get and the DME should not charge you any extra for that. Technically you could use the same sleep study to get a new prescription but the pressure most likely will have changed. Sleep studies are very expensive so I can understand not getting a new one. Here is what you should do. Get a prescription for an Autoset Cpap machine. i would recommend the resmed S9 Autoset. The autoset will detect apneas and increase or decrease the pressure automatically so that you are always getting the best pressure. You will set it with a low pressure usually 5cm and a max pressure usually 15cm but it can go up to 20cm. This will allow you to bypass the sleep study. This is a great machine, see the S9 model in this video blog article.
http://www.sleepnation.tv

[Goofproof]

I am a newbie. I've had a machine for 7 years, used it 3 days, back in 2003. I was not getting to sleep with it and put it in storage because when I learned to sleep without snoring (laying on my stomach and leaning my head over the side of the pillow so my face was somewhat looking down). I've got it out of storage again and started using it last week.
1. What machines would you suggest that had software, auto-triation, heated humidifier so I could get feedback on how I am doing each night?
2. I wonder if insurance companies cover the more advanced machines or just cover the basic ones like I have (REMstar plus with a mirage & ultra mirage RESMED mask that came with it). I'm going to call my insurance company and see how many masks they allow every year or ? and how often they allow for a new machine. Thanks for your answers.

Sleep studies are costly, but so is wasting seven years of your life going untreated. Basically your INS wasted the whole sleep study cost, and machine cost, while your machine sat in storage. I would use the machine I had, then when I got it's use down, look for one that collected real data. The best machine out there won't work, unless you decide to use it correctly. Jim