Greenhorn, just trying to figure things out...

[T-roy]

Hello,

I have good news and bad news.
First the bad news, I have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea with decreased heart rate, low O2 saturation, insomnia & snoring.
The good news is - I have an order for "auto cpap 5-15 cm heated humidifier & mask to fit".
The other bad news is - My Doctor & the people that did the sleep study are not any help at all. Both said "take the order to a medical supply store and see what your insurance will cover".

I talked to my insurance, United healthcare & they have three companies they work with:
Rotech
Apria, has a location close to me.
Lincare, has a location close to me.
I assume a location close to me will be willing to help me get started if i purchase a unit from them.
Any opinions on these companies?

I have a HSA so I’ll be using it to pay for the machine. I haven’t spent enough for the insurance to kick in so I'm not limited to the listed suppliers.
Am I better off buying through CPAP.com? Are the units easy to figure out without professional guidance?
I'm doing my homework & searching on this forum but I'm really tired so it's slow going.

[LSAT]

Find out what your closest supplier will charge you for the equipment you want...then compare to cpap.com.

[BlackSpinner]

When approaching the nearest suppliers, do so with a detailed list of what you want and an attitude of going to the worst gang run second hand auto sales place. (Though at the second hand car place the sales staff at least know what they re selling).

Make it clear you are comparison shopping and get everything they promise you in writing.

Don't give out your credit card number. If possible get a prepaid card loaded with what you need to buy.

Also you can buy the machine online and your mask at your friendly local shark shop.

[sleepychar]

I received a message from my primary care doctor's office telling me my sleep test results. They must have notified Apria because not five minutes later, and before I even had time to absorb the information that I have sleep apnea or have my follow-up appointment with my doctor to discuss the results of my test and the implications, etc., I got a phone call from Apria. The Apria person was very pushy and even though I explained that I was still feeling a bit shocky about hearing the diagnosis and I hadn't had a chance to talk with my doctor yet and I wasn't ready to make any decisions about my care yet, the person kept trying to get my Medicare number from me so she could "get the process started". I refused to give it to her. Maybe a week later, another call from Apria almost demanding I give them my insurance information even though I hadn't agreed on anything. As I said, very, very pushy.
In the past I had dealings with Lincare when I needed a nebulizer machine one time when I was having severe asthma symptoms. They kept auto-shipping supplies to me that I didn't need. I have no experience with the third company you mentioned.
There is an excellent post on this board somewhere, I'll look for the link and post it if I find it, about what you can expect when dealing with the durable medical equipment suppliers (DME). I think that has very good information. It's very hard when you are starting out and you have no idea what type of machine you might want/need, etc., but people on this board will help you sort it out. It is good if you can acquire some information before you visit with the DME about what equipment is available, etc. One thing everyone here mentions is that you want to get a CPAP machine that is data capable - that it can provide more data than just the minimum needed to prove compliance for the insurance company - which is basically just if you are using the machine for enough hours and not necessarily if the treatment is being effective for you.
I am pretty much of a newbie myself but I am sure others will chime in with advice for you too.

[Imatryin]

Beware of Apria! They wanted to charge me almost $900 MORE than the DME I found locally for the exact same equipment and it was going to take two weeks to get it to me. I had to pay out of my own pocket as well.

[sleepychar]

Here is the post I was thinking of - a blog, actually...

https://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/what- ... me-part-i/

[T-roy]

Thanks for the replies. Looks like I'll be shopping online and it looks like I'll have good advice along the way.

[yaconsult]

Everyone's insurance situation is different. You have to sit down and spend time on the phone. Call each potential supplier and ask them what the out-of-pocket cost to you is. Find out if it's a rental for the initial period or a straight purchase. Write it all down. Spreadsheets are great for this and you can make one for free on google spreadsheets: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/

Don't forget to include any shipping charges, tax, etc. In many cases, it ends up being cheaper to buy from cpap.com than the copay you are charged. But, if your insurance is good and you have already met your copay, the price though insurance might be good. Also, which accessories are included and which you have to pay extra for - like a heated hose.

Good job on not letting the DME rush you into something before you are ready. Check with us and make sure that what you are getting is a full data auto cpap that is supported by the free SleepyHead software.

The only advantage that a DME often has is being able to try multiple masks to see how they work for you. Luckily, our host cpap.com has something even better - free or low-cost return insurance on the most people masks that lets you return them if they don't work out for you. The most popular mask both on their site and here is the AirFit P10, so I would give that one a try first. I really love mine, but we are all different.