Sleep Study and cost

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
openmind
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Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:04 pm

Sleep Study and cost

Post by openmind » Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:08 pm

I am suffering all the symptoms of sleep apnea. My insurance deductible is quite high and will have to pay entire amount out of pocket. Will a PSG test be sufficient enough to help my condition. If diagnosed with Apnea, I plan to buy used cpap equipment. thanks

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palerider
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Re: Sleep Study and cost

Post by palerider » Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:44 pm

openmind wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:08 pm
I am suffering all the symptoms of sleep apnea. My insurance deductible is quite high and will have to pay entire amount out of pocket. Will a PSG test be sufficient enough to help my condition. If diagnosed with Apnea, I plan to buy used cpap equipment. thanks
Honestly? I'd just buy the used equipment, (preferably a Resmed S9 or Airsense 10 Autoset) and then come here to get help in setting it up and looking at the data and adjusting it for best results.

If it makes your sleep better, great! If it doesn't, turn around and sell it and you'll be out little, if any money.

All a sleep test will show you is that 'yes, a cpap will probably help', at which point, you'd get the machine and come here to get it set up and adjusted... my way, you save the cost of the sleep test :)

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Accounts to put on the foe list: dataq1, clownbell, gearchange, lynninnj, mper!?, DreamDiver, Geer1, almostadoctor, sleepgeek, ajack, stom, mogy, D.H., They often post misleading, timewasting stuff.

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Miss Emerita
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Re: Sleep Study and cost

Post by Miss Emerita » Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:47 pm

A PSG test is the best way to find out whether you have sleep apnea and, if you do, what kinds of apnea events you have. This information will be important as you select the PAP machine that will be best for you.

Will your test be in a sleep lab? They will also be able to tell whether you have other conditions, e.g., periodic limb movements.

Please let us know if you have follow-up questions.
Oscar software is available at https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

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Miss Emerita
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Re: Sleep Study and cost

Post by Miss Emerita » Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:49 pm

Okay, just saw palerider’s post. That is definitely an option too, if money is a significant consideration.
Oscar software is available at https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Sleep Study and cost

Post by chunkyfrog » Tue Sep 14, 2021 10:57 pm

There are ways to avoid indenturing yourself to the medical money machine.
Many here use the forum to optimize our therapy--some go completely "off the grid".
With care and diligent research, most can do as well or better than "official sources".
Some will disagree, but they usually have access to better care than the rest of us.

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GrumpyHere
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Re: Sleep Study and cost

Post by GrumpyHere » Wed Sep 15, 2021 12:16 am

At some point down the line, getting a Rx might be a good idea when you're hunting for "the one" mask.
Okie bipap wrote:
Tue Aug 17, 2021 6:34 pm
My wife and I are both on Medicare, and our prescriptions stated "Mask of patient's choice (HCPC A7030 or A7034)".
Not all masks are available as parts (the way online vendors avoid the RX requirement)

Some online vendors have 30 day Mask Free Trial.
Who Can Write A CPAP Prescription?

A variety of professionals can write a CPAP prescription including your:

Medical Doctor
Doctor of Osteopathy
Psychiatrist
Physicians Assistant
Nurse Practitioners
Dentist
Naturopathic Physician
ResMed Lumis Tx - VAuto mode

southerndoc
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Re: Sleep Study and cost

Post by southerndoc » Wed Sep 15, 2021 5:32 am

Unless your apnea is bad, you'll need one overnight test for diagnosis and another test for titration (to see what pressures work best for you). If it's really bad, they can stop after so many hours (4 I think) and then do a titration study -- a "split study."

Typically, sleep tests are about $1200-3000 depending on where you go and the contracted rate for your insurer. Large health systems charge more usually. At home tests are fine for diagnosis, and they are cheaper. If you have it, you'll have to get an in-lab study for the titration.

Most large hospitals post their prices now, but it can be difficult navigating all the codes. If you have a locally owned sleep lab (like a pulmonologist still in independent practice and not owned by a large health system), then usually those are cheaper and will likely give you a price if you call.

You can always call your insurer and ask them. Even if you haven't met your deductible, the lab must honor the insurer's negotiated rate when they bill you.

Do your sleep study at the beginning of the year or when you're close to your deductible. That way, if you have it, you'll be closer to your deductible to help pay for a CPAP machine (around $700-1500 depending on DME supplier; some overcharge).

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Sleep Study and cost

Post by chunkyfrog » Wed Sep 15, 2021 7:42 am

openmind wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:08 pm
. . .
will have to pay entire amount out of pocket.
. . .
@southerndoc, did you not read the original post?
Some folks have no idea how sh!tty insurance can be.

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openmind
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Re: Sleep Study and cost

Post by openmind » Wed Sep 15, 2021 9:21 am

palerider wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:44 pm
openmind wrote:
Tue Sep 14, 2021 7:08 pm
I am suffering all the symptoms of sleep apnea. My insurance deductible is quite high and will have to pay entire amount out of pocket. Will a PSG test be sufficient enough to help my condition. If diagnosed with Apnea, I plan to buy used cpap equipment. thanks
Honestly? I'd just buy the used equipment, (preferably a Resmed S9 or Airsense 10 Autoset) and then come here to get help in setting it up and looking at the data and adjusting it for best results.

If it makes your sleep better, great! If it doesn't, turn around and sell it and you'll be out little, if any money.

All a sleep test will show you is that 'yes, a cpap will probably help', at which point, you'd get the machine and come here to get it set up and adjusted... my way, you save the cost of the sleep test :)
Thanks for clarifying, I did buy a used Resmed S9, used it for a couple of days with default settings, 4-20 under Autoset mode. I no longer wake up feeling tired. Though sleep is still fragmented. I was just not sure how to figure out which pressure settings are correct for me. I will dig deeper into the data it provides and see what i can learn. I will put off a sleep study until I get better insurance.

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palerider
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Location: Dallas(ish).

Re: Sleep Study and cost

Post by palerider » Wed Sep 15, 2021 10:42 am

openmind wrote:
Wed Sep 15, 2021 9:21 am
Thanks for clarifying, I did buy a used Resmed S9, used it for a couple of days with default settings, 4-20 under Autoset mode. I no longer wake up feeling tired. Though sleep is still fragmented. I was just not sure how to figure out which pressure settings are correct for me. I will dig deeper into the data it provides and see what i can learn. I will put off a sleep study until I get better insurance.
Sleep studies don't tell you as much as using the machine over time will.

I wrote this some time back:
As to sleep studies... they may be "The GOLD Standard", but they are, in many ways, woefully inadequate if you think about it.

You're in an artificial environment, all wired up and less comfortable than normal.
It's *one night* and likely only part of that night. reading any titration report, you'll see that "oh, your good pressure was 12cm, you slept for 45 minutes at that pressure!"

It's a simple fact that sleep varies from night to night and even hour to hour, you'll have better and worse days with the same exact settings. Yet the "gold standard" is a small number of minutes tested on one night.... a brief photograph taken during the marathon run that is your sleep.

It's not surprising that sleep studies are sometimes quite wrong, what's surprising is that they're ever right!

So, as long as you didn't get the S9 Escape Auto, you're good, download Oscar, and post some charts. We only need the first six, https://www.cpaptalk.com/wiki/index.php/Oscar:organize

_________________
Mask: Bleep DreamPort CPAP Mask Solution
Additional Comments: S9 VPAP Auto
Get OSCAR

Accounts to put on the foe list: dataq1, clownbell, gearchange, lynninnj, mper!?, DreamDiver, Geer1, almostadoctor, sleepgeek, ajack, stom, mogy, D.H., They often post misleading, timewasting stuff.

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Miss Emerita
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Re: Sleep Study and cost

Post by Miss Emerita » Wed Sep 15, 2021 11:54 am

openmind wrote:
Wed Sep 15, 2021 9:21 am
Thanks for clarifying, I did buy a used Resmed S9, used it for a couple of days with default settings, 4-20 under Autoset mode. I no longer wake up feeling tired. Though sleep is still fragmented. I was just not sure how to figure out which pressure settings are correct for me. I will dig deeper into the data it provides and see what i can learn. I will put off a sleep study until I get better insurance.
You can get a wealth of information by using the OSCAR software on your laptop or desktop computer. Make sure there's an SD card in your machine, download the software, and have the software read the data from the card. (If you don't have an SD slot in your computer, you can get a very inexpensive plug-in card reader.) Then you can post a screenshot of your "daily chart" from Oscar, which will really help people here advise you on adjusting your settings.

I'm going to guess you'll feel more comfortable if your minimum pressure is higher than 4. Try 6. To get into the clinical settings just hold down the round knob and the home button together for a few seconds. (At least I think that'll work on an S9.) While you're in the clinical settings, see whether you can turn on "plus" for "essentials," which will give you more information on the screen of your machine. Just check the "plus" information to make sure the reporting period is one day.

It's great you're already feeling better. I bet you'll start sleeping more soundly when you get used to sleeping with the mask and machine.
Oscar software is available at https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/