Introduction

[Enlil]

Hello All!

I just got diagnosed with severe OSA (AHI of 94), so I am glad I found this board. It is good reading about everybody's experience and learning from the community's collective wisdom.

I've already done my sleep study and titration. I am about to meet with the DME therapist on Monday. When they initially called me to schedule, I inquired about the brand/model of the CPAP machine and they told me they were giving me a RemStar. Thanks to this board, I pushed for a ResMed S9 Autoset. However, since my doctor had only written a single pressure vs a range on the Rx, they pushed back and mentioned they can only give me the "regular" S9. I asked if by "regular" they meant the straight CPAP S9 Elite. They said yes, but we'll see what they pull out on Monday.

Any ideas/strategies for how I can convince them to give me the Autoset instead? I figure if they don't give it to me, I'll go direct through cpaplus.com or some other online supplier if I have too.

Rich

[Love my Sleep]

Hi Rich,

I just got my new machine - an autoset Resmed S9 but my prescription was for a single pressure cpap. I pushed for it knowing that the machine can be set to a single pressure. I pushed for it because I know I wanted the flexibility if down the road I needed an auto. Insurances I understand generally only cover a new machine every 5 years so push for the machine you want.

[Wulfman...]

Hello All!

I just got diagnosed with severe OSA (AHI of 94), so I am glad I found this board. It is good reading about everybody's experience and learning from the community's collective wisdom.

I've already done my sleep study and titration. I am about to meet with the DME therapist on Monday. When they initially called me to schedule, I inquired about the brand/model of the CPAP machine and they told me they were giving me a RemStar. Thanks to this board, I pushed for a ResMed S9 Autoset. However, since my doctor had only written a single pressure vs a range on the Rx, they pushed back and mentioned they can only give me the "regular" S9. I asked if by "regular" they meant the straight CPAP S9 Elite. They said yes, but we'll see what they pull out on Monday.

Any ideas/strategies for how I can convince them to give me the Autoset instead? I figure if they don't give it to me, I'll go direct through cpaplus . com or some other online supplier if I have too.

Rich

There's nothing "wrong" with using a straight-pressure machine like the Elite. The Elite is fully data capable.
However, if you really want an APAP (Autoset), the arguments could be that it has the same insurance code as the Elite - E0601. AND, it can be set to operate using straight/fixed pressure.
If you're using your insurance to pay for it, the insurance provider pays by insurance codes and they don't care which one you get. The DME is the one who will probably make less profit off of the deal.......and that's why they push cheaper machines.

Get a copy/original of your prescription.


Den

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[Enlil]

Thanks all. Those are good points!

[JohnO]

I pushed for it because I know I wanted the flexibility if down the road I needed an auto.

To add to this -- I do have an auto machine, and find that while home in my own bed, the pressure rarely changes more than 0.5. When I travel, though, and stay in strange beds with different pillows, the pressure changes can be more drastic. By having the auto-CPAP with a range, it'll allow you you have a relatively low base pressure, which tends to be more comfortable than the higher pressures, but the machine will increase pressure if needed. See if you can use that to convince your doctor to change your prescription to show a range (i.e., requiring an auto machine), that way, your DME should have no reason to push back.

John