Lincare DME

[Stevoreno_55]

I might have to change DME providers in the next few months; my insurance company recommended a company named Lincare; I've never heard of them. Anyone on this board ever heard of Lincare and if you have are they any good?


Stevoreno_55
Biloxi, MS

[ptl4now]

I really like Lincare, they are my current provider. I had Apria before them, and I HATED them with a passion. Lincare has been extremely helpful when I have stopped in with no appointment, and they have even scavenged free supplies for my old, outdated, back up sleep machine I use for travel. They call me every three months, and tell me what supplies I am eligible for, and ask if I would like all or some of them to be sent out to me. They even called me a couple weeks ago to tell me I was now eligible for a new machine. We talked about what machine I wanted, I looked online while we were on the phone, and I discovered climate line tubing, and she was very helpful explaining everything to me. Every step of the process was marked by their communication. They called to see what I wanted, than they called when they got the word from the doctor when they submitted this to the factory, and than they called before they shipped it out to be sure they had all the settings where I wanted them.
I had problem after problem with Apria, and I always felt like I was an inconvience to them, they lost track of every appointment I had with them, and rushed me through everything. Lincare has been worlds different. It may not be the same quality of service I get at MY lincare store, but I would certainly not be scared to give them a shot!!!

BUT: I get no bills or charges for c-pap supplies, so I have no way of knowing if they inflate their prices compared to other stores, just a sidenote!!

[LSAT]

Do a search...you will find a lot

viewtopic/t95678/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=93 ... re#p868645

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=88926&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=lincare

[HerbM]

Just make sure that your DME is in your insurance companies network IF that affects your payment.

My insurance company pays 80% in plan and 60% out of plan. Doesn't sound like a big difference, 20% until you turn it around and realize that out of plan would DOUBLE MY PAYMENT.

I am using American Home Patient which seems to have local offices all over and they have been REALLY good compared to all of the stories on the forums.

[Stevoreno_55]

Just make sure that your DME is in your insurance companies network IF that affects your payment.

My insurance company pays 80% in plan and 60% out of plan. Doesn't sound like a big difference, 20% until you turn it around and realize that out of plan would DOUBLE MY PAYMENT.

I am using American Home Patient which seems to have local offices all over and they have been REALLY good compared to all of the stories on the forums.

Lincare is in my plan; thanks for your comments.

[KentuckyHoser]

My experience with them is very limited. I don't even have my machine yet. But I can say that they made a dozen phone calls trying to get my PA in time for my appt. Wednesday so I wouldn't have to wait another week. Their efforts failed. But they tried hard until the last minute. Then yesterday I got a hose cover thing in the mail. It came from the local office along with a little note thanking me for letting them handle my cpap needs and stating they are looking forward to doing business with me. I believe that was just a local thing though, not a company wide thing. It was from their RT personally. I thought that was a really nice touch. I was going to order one anyway. Now I don't have to!

[Stevoreno_55]

I really like Lincare, they are my current provider. I had Apria before them, and I HATED them with a passion. Lincare has been extremely helpful when I have stopped in with no appointment, and they have even scavenged free supplies for my old, outdated, back up sleep machine I use for travel. They call me every three months, and tell me what supplies I am eligible for, and ask if I would like all or some of them to be sent out to me. They even called me a couple weeks ago to tell me I was now eligible for a new machine. We talked about what machine I wanted, I looked online while we were on the phone, and I discovered climate line tubing, and she was very helpful explaining everything to me. Every step of the process was marked by their communication. They called to see what I wanted, than they called when they got the word from the doctor when they submitted this to the factory, and than they called before they shipped it out to be sure they had all the settings where I wanted them.
I had problem after problem with Apria, and I always felt like I was an inconvience to them, they lost track of every appointment I had with them, and rushed me through everything. Lincare has been worlds different. It may not be the same quality of service I get at MY lincare store, but I would certainly not be scared to give them a shot!!!

BUT: I get no bills or charges for c-pap supplies, so I have no way of knowing if they inflate their prices compared to other stores, just a sidenote!!

When you are contacted and told that you are eligible to receive a new machine are you required to undergo a new 2 night sleep lab study before you are able to actually receive a new machine? You also mentioned that "I get no bills or charges for c-pap supplies"; does your insurance company not send out E.O.B.'s; [ Explanation of Benefits ] forms?

[ClayL]

How good a local Lincare store is depends on the local management. We lived full time in our motor home for 11 years and I used Lincare because they have a national presence.
Some stores were well managed and did a great job. Some not so good.

I found that getting supplies from the central office was a nightmare. They simply could not understand that we moved around a lot and could not adjust to sending stuff to different addresses.
I finally found a decent local store in CO that was willing to send me supplies when I called and use the address I gave them.

[ptl4now]

I really like Lincare, they are my current provider. I had Apria before them, and I HATED them with a passion. Lincare has been extremely helpful when I have stopped in with no appointment, and they have even scavenged free supplies for my old, outdated, back up sleep machine I use for travel. They call me every three months, and tell me what supplies I am eligible for, and ask if I would like all or some of them to be sent out to me. They even called me a couple weeks ago to tell me I was now eligible for a new machine. We talked about what machine I wanted, I looked online while we were on the phone, and I discovered climate line tubing, and she was very helpful explaining everything to me. Every step of the process was marked by their communication. They called to see what I wanted, than they called when they got the word from the doctor when they submitted this to the factory, and than they called before they shipped it out to be sure they had all the settings where I wanted them.
I had problem after problem with Apria, and I always felt like I was an inconvience to them, they lost track of every appointment I had with them, and rushed me through everything. Lincare has been worlds different. It may not be the same quality of service I get at MY lincare store, but I would certainly not be scared to give them a shot!!!

BUT: I get no bills or charges for c-pap supplies, so I have no way of knowing if they inflate their prices compared to other stores, just a sidenote!!

When you are contacted and told that you are eligible to receive a new machine are you required to undergo a new 2 night sleep lab study before you are able to actually receive a new machine? You also mentioned that "I get no bills or charges for c-pap supplies"; does your insurance company not send out E.O.B.'s; [ Explanation of Benefits ] forms?

When they called me about ordering a new machine, they asked when I had seen my sleep doc last. It was recent, so I didnt need to go see him again, and certainly I did not need a new sleep study, especially not a two night one. If they are asking that of you, perhaps your insurance is asking for it? I have never heard of anything like that.....As for a E.O.B, i cannot say as I really read them. I don't have to pay, so I usually just toss them. I really don't want to know how expensive I am!

[College3girls]

Let me start by saying I'm new to CPAP. I go for my APAP machine and mask selection next week.

I started out with Lincare because they came recommended by a relative who uses them, but cancelled the appointment. They only had one APAP to choose from, and it wasn't what I felt I needed. Also, I found them to be much more expensive for me than the company I switched to. I have to pay 50%, and I'm finding huge differences in costs and brands of machines and supplies available from one DME to another.

I ended up going back to the sleep lab and asking for the list of local DME''s they had for me to chose from. I had researched on- line, so I had a list of machines I thought would fit my life-style, and the same with a list of masks I thought would be good to try, as well as an idea of prices. I started calling the DME list from the top down and specifically asked if they had what I was looking for, and what would be my cost after insurance. Thankfully, I quickly found one that had my top pick in machines, and for about half of what I would have had to pay for a machine, that while highly rated, wasn't going to be the best one for me. I will say their mask return policy is not as good as what Lincare described, but it is a policy I can live with. They were able to get me an appointment for the same day I had originally scheduled to be off from work to take care of all this. Hopefully their service continues to be as good.

It sounds like it may depend a lot on what area you are in. I recommend calling the DME''s available to you with specific questions on what they provide, and how much your out of pocket cost would be. Just like the masks, it seems none of them are a one-size fits all.

[jwerley]

Lincare is my DME and I am very happy with them. I do read my EOB's just to make sure everything is right. I have Medicare and would not want them to pay for anything that was not ordered. Lincare has served me very well. Everything is handled out of the national office now that we have competitive bidding.

Janice

[idamtnboy]

I might have to change DME providers in the next few months; my insurance company recommended a company named Lincare; I've never heard of them. Anyone on this board ever heard of Lincare and if you have are they any good?

Some folks here have referred to them as "Lin-don't-care"! Probably pretty much depends on the local store, as others have said.

[apw5746]

I too have LINCARE. Actually, just about all active and retired military in this area have them as there DME. I suppose they are in bed with the military here. Anyway, I don't have any other to compare with, but I've always had excellent care, response, and results.

[Stevoreno_55]

I really like Lincare, they are my current provider. I had Apria before them, and I HATED them with a passion. Lincare has been extremely helpful when I have stopped in with no appointment, and they have even scavenged free supplies for my old, outdated, back up sleep machine I use for travel. They call me every three months, and tell me what supplies I am eligible for, and ask if I would like all or some of them to be sent out to me. They even called me a couple weeks ago to tell me I was now eligible for a new machine. We talked about what machine I wanted, I looked online while we were on the phone, and I discovered climate line tubing, and she was very helpful explaining everything to me. Every step of the process was marked by their communication. They called to see what I wanted, than they called when they got the word from the doctor when they submitted this to the factory, and than they called before they shipped it out to be sure they had all the settings where I wanted them.
I had problem after problem with Apria, and I always felt like I was an inconvience to them, they lost track of every appointment I had with them, and rushed me through everything. Lincare has been worlds different. It may not be the same quality of service I get at MY lincare store, but I would certainly not be scared to give them a shot!!!

BUT: I get no bills or charges for c-pap supplies, so I have no way of knowing if they inflate their prices compared to other stores, just a sidenote!!

When you are contacted and told that you are eligible to receive a new machine are you required to undergo a new 2 night sleep lab study before you are able to actually receive a new machine? You also mentioned that "I get no bills or charges for c-pap supplies"; does your insurance company not send out E.O.B.'s; [ Explanation of Benefits ] forms?

When they called me about ordering a new machine, they asked when I had seen my sleep doc last. It was recent, so I didnt need to go see him again, and certainly I did not need a new sleep study, especially not a two night one. If they are asking that of you, perhaps your insurance is asking for it? I have never heard of anything like that.....As for a E.O.B, i cannot say as I really read them. I don't have to pay, so I usually just toss them. I really don't want to know how expensive I am!

You toss your E.O.B.'s? I don't and everyone I receive I look it over good just like I do my monthly credit card statements; I never toss my E.O.B.'s; never.