Mask Price !!!!!!!!!!

rws · Post by **rws** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:10 pm

Well, when I found out the price for a new mask, Ultra Mirage Full Face - $415.00 Canadian! I now have problems with day breathing!!!

I was looking on the web and noticed they went for approx. $180.00 U.S. so I'm guessing theres quite the mark-up. I have to pay up-front and then my insurange will reimburse 60%.

Just thought I'd share a little of my pricing saga....

Regards, Rick

RipVW · Post by **RipVW** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:12 pm

Whoa! That's more than markup, that's robbery!

LinkC · Post by **LinkC** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:26 pm

http://www.cpapauction.com

They're going for $55-65US plus shipping. (That's WAY less than your 40% of 415CAN!)

Froro · Post by **Froro** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:31 pm

My DME quoted me $380 for a Swift Lt for her. I'm only covered for one mask a year. I bought one at amazon last week for $89.00USD (plus an insane $45 shipping fee but still....way cheaper)

MichaelWalker · Post by **MichaelWalker** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:46 pm

Froro wrote:My DME quoted me $380 for a Swift Lt for her. I'm only covered for one mask a year. I bought one at amazon last week for $89.00USD (plus an insane $45 shipping fee but still....way cheaper)

Last week I ordered the Swift LT (not "for her" model) from cpap.com and it was $105 US ($116 CAN), but as recently written about in the forum, cpap.com called and said ResMed wouldn't ship to Canada. So, I had to pick one up from a local DME... It came to $258.50 CAN after tax. That's over a 200% mark-up, a difference of $142.50 CAN. Not quite the $380 you were quoted, but bad enough. Looks like you paid just under $145 CAN for your amazon purchase - pretty good. How did you get Amazon.com (the US version) to ship to you in Canada? I thought they only shipped Canadian orders from their amazon.ca site (which doesn't carry very much beyond music and movies)?

Next time I'll have it shipped from cpap.com to my mother in Florida and have her ship it to me here in Canada. What silly hurdles.

Michael

rws · Post by **rws** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:06 pm

LinkC wrote:http://www.cpapauction.com

They're going for $55-65US plus shipping. (That's WAY less than your 40% of 415CAN!)

I'll say! Has anyone used the site for purchasing equipment? Just wondering how reputable it is and also, do they ship to Canada?

Regards, Rick

Hose_Head · Post by **Hose_Head** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:09 pm

rws wrote:Well, when I found out the price for a new mask, Ultra Mirage Full Face - $415.00 Canadian! I now have problems with day breathing!!!

I was looking on the web and noticed they went for approx. $180.00 U.S. so I'm guessing theres quite the mark-up. I have to pay up-front and then my insurange will reimburse 60%.

Just thought I'd share a little of my pricing saga....

Regards, Rick

This seems to be why Resmed products seem to be so popular amoung Canadian DME's.

The simple solution is to just say "no thanks".

Buy it from the States via mail order, or buy a product from another manufacturer.

Don't feed greedy DMEs.

yorkiemum01 · Post by **yorkiemum01** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:26 pm

I have purchased masks from CPAP.com and ebay...both with great results.

Hawthorne · Post by **Hawthorne** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:27 pm

I have made a number of purchases on cpapauction.com. Prices are great, even with exchange. I have bought several "never used" masks. I prefer never used or used momentarily.

I do clean them well when I get them.

Most sellers don't say they will ship to Canada but, if you email them, most will.

You need to ask them if they will ship to your location and BE SURE TO ASK IF THEY WILL SHIP VIA USPS. If they ship via Courier you may end up paying a brokerage fee.

Cpapaution.com is run by cpap.com. PayPal is the best way to pay and most sellers actually ask for PayPal.

It is a case of "BUYER BEWARE" but most of the sellers are very good.

It sure saves a lot of money and lets you have a number of masks.

Froro · Post by **Froro** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:28 pm

I've never had a problem having things shipped from amazon.com to Canada. The supplier for this is a medical supply place out of Venice Florida so yeah...when my folks are there in the winter if I need anything I'll have it shipped to them.

I went and checked my order status a little while ago and it was shipped July 9th. LONG delivery period but I had it shipped regular USpostal service (avoid the crazy brokerage fee) so between coming up from florida, hitting customs etc it will still be awhile. It's scheduled to be here next week.

My DME charged me $2100 + for my elite II, humidifier, and mask. They tossed in an extra bottle of distilled water (woohoo...they saved me dollar). Oh...they did include a hose cover made of sweatshirt material too!!

I'm going to talk to my insurance company about ordering from the US going forward. The price differential is crazy. The fact that the government pays essentially what US based internet providers are selling them for the DME' s here are just swimming in profit. So the government pays the cost (plus profit) of the equipment to the DME, then they charge the insurance companies (or individual) an additional 13-1400 dollars.

The fact that the price was to include, unlimited maintenance, support etc was a joke. I had to contact Resmed directly when there was errant high pitched noise coming from my machine. Brought it into DME twice, they said "you're lucky you don't have the older escapes...they were loud"....thanks honey!!!. I will give credit where credit is due. Resmed contacted the DME immediately after I sent them everything I had done to eliminate the noise, lesson it, diagnose it etc. I got a phone call less than 5 minutes after getting an email from Resmed informing me my DME would be replacing the unit with a new one.

When I got to the DME they said...it's better you contacted Resmed anyway because now we don't have to get authorization to return it.

feeling_better · Post by **feeling_better** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:37 pm

This is an interesting 'innsurance' business model! So when the insurance company 'partially reimburse' the patient, each 'approved device' will make them a whole lot of net income!! They actually make a whole lot more profit than cpap.com from the same item! For this previlage, you or your govt pays them an insurance premium! This is almost comical. This business must be trained by the Maidoff Bussiess School!

Windmill · Post by **Windmill** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:50 pm

Prices are very high in Canada. I paid $275.00 for a Swift LT for her and $240.00 for a ComfortLite 2. There is no tax on them, thank goodness. ADP will pick up $780. for my new machine and I am hoping that my insurance company lets the second mask go through with all of my equipment that I just purchased. The total came to $1945. It wasn't over the limit that they allow for a machine and to get set up so will see if they pay their 80%. They usually only allow one mask per year as well as all of the other items that you need to use the machine. I know I will be looking online to replace my masks and other items in the future, when I retire I won't have any insurance.

Froro · Post by **Froro** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 6:53 pm

Actually, it's even better really.

Our government insurance pays $780 to the DME for the machine. (you can get a new machine ever 5 years)
We pay for our supplemental insurance through my husband's employer.
DME then bills the supplemental private insurance the balance up to whatever they decide to charge.
Insurance sends out the cheque and we are left with the whatever the insurance company won't cover (in our case we have 80% coverage).

In reality I was only out of pocket a couple of hundred dollars but the point remains....they are making an absolute killing on this stuff up here. They are soaking the private supplemental insurance companies big time!!!!

Government insurance also pays for two sleep studies per calendar year. You can have more but they need to be approved first.

wow · Post by **wow** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 2:52 am

that stinks. I pay $9-$18 for my masks. But then again I get them from Resmed and Respironics directly. Sleep labs get them much cheaper too. I have told people here before, if you have crappy insurance, or I guess if you live in Canada and want a mask, let me know. I can hook it up on occasion. I won't steal from my lab, but if there are masks just collecting dust, I would rather give them to someone who could use them. I always hook my patients up with a mask or two. I don't reuse masks anymore. (THats where I get the collection from.)

ffdf · Post by **ffdf** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:09 am

just because there are alot of jerks out there who will try to talk trash, I do want to mention I get permission from my supervisor to hand them out, and I also have contacted Resmed or Respironics to see if they will give me a couple freebies. So far, the Reps for the company have never told me no. So, I haven't actually had to give out a used mask yet. Just freebies from Resmed, Respironics or Fisher Paykel.

Oh and Link C. this doesn't apply to you.

Machine	Mask	Humidifier

Additional Comments: 11-14 cmH2O

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