Resmed S8 Elite™ compact?

[Lachesis]

This is what they want me to use. I can't remember if I have read good or bad reviews on it

I need to contact my insurance company but this guy said I will do a rent to own over a 12-14 month period (and implied it is the only way to do it) and it is the only one I can rent to own. This machine cost $1600!!? Holy crud man. I thought they cost around $600 +/- for a CPAP machine? He implied I could pay out of pocket if I went anywhere else? Kriky!!
My fear is I am on temporary disabilty. At most I will have insurance until next July through the blue cross/blue shield. Until/Unless I go back to work which hopefully this will be cleared up by then.
I do have my husband's insurance as back up, but I am not sure how good it is. It would kind of SUCK if I had to pay out of pocket because we will both be on a machine (that I am sure of).

[snoregirl]

I can't remember if you mentioned your copay on any of your other posts.

Makes a difference if your copay is 30%, 20%, 10%, or nothing.

The Elite with humidifier is indeed $650 if you buy from CPAP.com cash. But you also call it a Compact which is a different machine and is $465 cash. I don't know which machine they are really going to give you. If you want my guess it is the cheaper one which doesn't give data and doesn't have exhale relief. You need to know which machine they are trying to give you.

I would call insurance one more time (and speak to a different person just to verify that they don't have a rent to buy that is a lesser time. Mine (not blue cross/blue shield) was 3 month rental and if I met compliance, then they paid the balance. Compliance was every day at least 4 hours per night and I think there was some leeway for a cold or whatever. If I hadn't met compliance they would have rented for another 3 month period...
I am not saying you can get a lesser time, just that I found insurance people are not informed and it can be good to talk to more than one and maybe a supervisor to make sure you have the correct information.

12 - 14 months rental leaves you with 1 - 3 months uncovered with your insurance. Why is it a range of months? They should know if it is 12 or 14. If you can figure what your insurance is paying per month (total cost divided by 12 or 14 and minus your copay) you will know how much those 1 - 3 months will cost you if your husband's insurance won't kick in. Then you can make a choice. Cash or insurance.

You don't want to be holding the bill after your insurance stops. Balance at that point might be more than cash purchase and if you give it back and make a cash purchase you have wasted all that copay. On the other hand if copay is zero, then you can rent now for the length of your insurance coverage and give the machine back when insurance ends after having purchased one for cash.

It is complicated to find out if your husband's insurance will then pick up the bill. I might be tempted to call them too and see what they say both about combined coverage, and if they will cover a future purchase if you don't use them now. (I am talking about if you rent, lose your insurance then buy or rent to buy through husbands insurance. Probably won't work if they are involved on the orignial rental but if they are not, maybe...

I am a big believer in the flexiblity of AUTO that can be used as straight CPAP (so you can easily see if your pressure is correct). Of course you can do that with the software with the elite too if you purchase that.

But if you end up with a cash purchase out of your own pocket consider an APAP depending on how tight money is. Might save you money in the long run.

You only mention one DME. Does the insurance company allow you to work with other local DME's or Bill My insurance.com?? Why only one machine choice? The elite is a nice machine, the compact is low end. Another DME that is approved by your insurer may offer more choices. Most likely the DME you are talking to has a relationship with Resmed and make more money on those machines so they don't want to offer a choice.

Another option is get the doc to write a specific script (type of machine you want). Either different brand, or model (for data collection or whatever will get you to the machine you want).

Good luck, but don't overspend out of your own pocket.

[preemiern]

I love my resmed elite--the EPR function is great, and you can get your data everyday off the LED screen, so you don't haev to have the card, reader and software.
Just make sure it is the Elite you are going to get, not the escape which is what I believe they refer to as thier compact also, and make sure you get the humidifier--get your dr. to write a script for the elite specifically with EPR, and for the humidifier.
If this has to be your only option-there is nothing wrong with the Elite.

[Arizona-Willie]

As I mentioned to you, that is the machine I have.

Is is a very good machine. Nice and quiet. Has EPR for exhale pressure relief ( if needed ).

On the other hand...many people here use other brands and love them too.

Some of the others report more data when using their data card and software.

But the Autoscan 5.7 software for the S8 Elite gives everything you really need to know.

So does just reading the data from the Efficiency Menu on the lcd screen.

If you can get your doctor to write a script for an apap instead of cpap ... well and good. It just auto adjusts according to what it senses as you use it to find your " sweet spot ". You can do the same thing using the software or manually reading the data and entering it in a spreadsheet or database and tracking it and observing the changes in your AHI / AI / HI as you increase and decrease the pressure setting.

Most doctors won't write for the apap unless there are certain indications during a titration study because most insurance won't pay for it unless they can show the certain indications.

But if he will ... great. If not, the S8 Elite is a very good machine. Have no qualms about getting that.

[ThunderSnorem]

I have the S8 Elite and couldn't be happier. It is a compact, sturdy machine that has EPR available, and records/reports Efficacy data. (I also travelled recently with it and it dropped on the floor - HARD, with no damage at all. Had it checked out and it is just fine.)

I would stay away from the compact (base) model because of no recording of data.

My DME charged BCBS almost $2000 for the whole setup, and I paid about 350 out of pocket. Really annoyed me since it is so much more reasonable on line. My DME only carries Resmed, but I couldn't be happier with it. I just didn't know enough going into the whole thing to be knowledgeable.
My recent AHI has been running 2.8, and in my PSG I was around an AHI of 59.

Just my two cents!

John

[kavanaugh1950]

I ALSO LOVE MY ELITE. I ORIGINALLY HAD THE ESCAPE WHICH WORKED FINE BUT YOU COULDN'T GET DATA OFF IT. AFTER I ARGUED OVER AND OVER WITH THE DME I FINALLY WAS ALLOWED TO EXCHANGE IT FOR THE ELITE. NOW I JUST CHECK THE LED SCREEN IN THE AM AND GET MY NUMBERS OFF OF IT. WORKS FOR ME! PAT