Recommendation of National DMEs

[MandoJohnny]

I am on a national insurance plan (Aetna) that covers 100% of DME. I got assigned to a local DME for my CPAP because they were affiliated with my sleep lab and my doctor. Unfortunately, they are incompetent. Also, I travel for a living and they can't do much for me when I am on the road having an equipment problem. I have had it with them. I found out I can actually pick any number of DMEs on Aetna. I want to find a national DME that has facilities in most major cities and gives decent service. I know there are problems with all DMEs, but they would have to work at it to be worse than mine.

Any recommendations? Apria is one I have heard of here and it is on Aetna's list. Any opinions on them? Any help would be appreciated.

[Guest]

I have not had any major problems with lincare.

TM

[linda b]

You will probably hear horror stories about any or all of the major DME 'chains' but I've had pretty good service from Lincare here in Knoxville and in Hagerstown, Maryland where my daughter lives. On our last trip I also had the need to use another Lincare location in Virginia. I don't remember the city but it was along the I-81 corridor.

[biggbunny]

Hi
I have heard some horror stories about Apria, but they have worked well for me. I have been using them for about 8 months. Two examples.

1. My doctor failed to prescribe a heated humidifier on the initial prescription. When I asked the tech about this, he went ahead and gave me one, and said that Apria would recontact the doctor if needed for an additional prescription.

2. I use both CPAP and an O2 concentrator fed into the CPAP line. So far, when I travel, I have skipped the Oxygen. I asked Apria about travel considerations a few weeks ago and they said to take my CPAP and they would have their local office in my destination city furnish me an O2 machine for the length of my stay, at no additional cost.

Apria has a special toll free number and web page specifically for CPAP issues. I have found the techs who answer the phone there to be knowledgable and helpful. On the other hand, I have called their regular service number and found the folks to be less informed and not too helpful.

LB