A new low for Apria.

[CollegeGirl]

They just get more and more unbelievable. I asked them to order me two masks. How hard is that? First, they screw up one of the masks they're supposed to order. Then they call me today and tell me I have to come in to get some insurance info straight.

So I walk into Apria and say "My insurance pays for two masks per school year - it's a school policy. It's up in August. I want to go ahead and get both masks before it runs out."

She's like "Insurance policies only pay for one mask every six months."

I was like "We went through this last time I was here. I told you it was two per school year, you didn't believe me, you called the insurance company, they told you the same thing I did, you gave me the masks, everything was fine."

She goes "I'm going to have to speak to my supervisor." She comes back and says "My supervisor has the contract with your insurance company right there. It's one every six months."

I said "That's regular policies. This is a college policy. If you call them, they'll tell you that." She REFUSED to call the insurance company.

She said her supervisor was only going to allow me to purchase one mask through insurance because she knew that was all they'd cover. If I wanted a second mask, I'd have to pay cash for it.

I said "If you'd look it up, you'd see I got two the last time I was here and purchased masks."

She comes back and says "I checked. You got ONE mask this past January. A ResMed Cushion mask." (Keep in mind this is the SAME THING this moron told me back in February of this year when I asked them to order me an Invacare TwilightNP. A month later, when I called to check on the status of it, she told me that mask couldn't be ordered).

I said "That was January 06, and that was a CUSHION for an UMFF, NOT a mask." She says "It states clearly right here, 'ResMed Cushion Mask.'"

I said, "There is NO SUCH THING. All I got was a cushion for my Ultra Mirage Full Face." She wouldn't believe me. She said she was an RT, she knew what kind of masks existed.

I finally said, "Fine, order the one I want, I'll get the other one elsewhere." I was SO ANGRY.

And the worst part - I stutter when I'm tired, nervous, or worked up. I was angry - so I was stuttering. And she was OBVIOUSLY HOLDING BACK LAUGHTER. I seriously wanted to wring her scrawny little neck.

I'm going to get my insurance company to send me documentation saying they cover two per school year, I'm going to take it back up there, and rub it in her face.

Oh, and wait, why would I bother to go back up there, you ask? Because I get home today, and there's a message waiting - she forgot to collect my copay. She won't order the mask I want til I go back up and pay it.

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): resmed, mirage

[rested gal]

wow.

[GTOJim]

Everytime I order something from Apria my blood pressure goes up, every time it has been a very unpleasant experience. Per my insurance I have to use Apria.

Monday I ordered a new mask, spent at least 30 minutes going round and round with the person on the phone, Yesterday I got two phone calls from two different people at Apria about my order. Today another person from Apria phoned. Insurance pays for a new mask every six months, got my last new mask in Nov. I am sure anywhere else it would be a slam dunk, not so with Apria.

I feel your pain, I know all to well what Apria is like. I've been using CPAP for 4 years.

[BrensTiredMom]

That's terrible!! It makes me so mad that DMEs make us go through all of this. I hope that you get the info from your insurer to get your 2nd mask. And I hope that maybe your insurer will change DMEs or add another one to the list!!!!

[Hosed All Night]

Thankfully my insurance carrier, ConnectiCare, dropped Apria becuase of complaints. I can attest... dealing with Apria's total incompentent, unresponsive people is a frustrating experience.

[seamonkey21]

ugh. fire them, if at all possible.

They just get more and more unbelievable. I asked them to order me two masks. How hard is that? First, they screw up one of the masks they're supposed to order. Then they call me today and tell me I have to come in to get some insurance info straight.

[Guest]

First let me say how extremly sorry I am that you have to go through this...with anyone. As for this lady saying that she is an RT and knows what kind of masks there are, this just makes me angry. I am also and RT. I have been in Respiratory for about 4 years and for the first 3&1/2 years I worked in a large hospital where home CPAP's were not a concern of ours. I have just started to work in the Home Health Field and I am learning more every day. I DO NOT know what kind of masks are out there. I learn more and more from my patients every day. Clearly this lady has some ego problems and needs to go back to learn customer service. So sorry for what you have to go through.

[oceanpearl]

[quote="Anonymous"]First let me say how extremly sorry I am that you have to go through this...with anyone. As for this lady saying that she is an RT and knows what kind of masks there are, this just makes me angry. I am also and RT. I have been in Respiratory for about 4 years and for the first 3&1/2 years I worked in a large hospital where home CPAP's were not a concern of ours. I have just started to work in the Home Health Field and I am learning more every day. I DO NOT know what kind of masks are out there. I learn more and more from my patients every day. Clearly this lady has some ego problems and needs to go back to learn customer service. So sorry for what you have to go through.
Anyone who calls themselves an RT and doesn't at least monitor some Apnea forums should be ashamed of themselves..

I have a friend in Vegas who is an RT. God help anyone that he treats!!!

[Sergey45]

I am a middle age man who’s happened to have a SA. Every time I’m dealing with APRIA brings me to the point of total frustration. I could only imagine what old people are experiencing when dealing with APRIA and also what kind of care they are getting from them. And most of SA patients are 60+.
Sergey.
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http://www.sleepapneasymptom.medgrip.com/cpap_mask.html

[jasper]

My experience with Apria pales in comparison to yours CG, but it went something like this:

Walk in, ask if they have filters in stock.

No, we'll have to order them.

Ok, I'll call in a few days to check.

Call back: no they're not in yet.

Call back: no they're not in yet.

Call back: no they're not in yet.

Order filters from cpap.com

Receive VERY quickly at half the price, thank you very much

UPS arrives a week later with filters from Apria.

They charge my insurance.

Go figure...

[Slinky]

GaRT/Guest, thanks for dropping in to the forum. I'm afraid you won't find too many of us saying any too much good about our DME suppliers and DME's RTs. Please bear w/us tho. We know there good DME suppliers and DME's RTs out there. And we know there are good sleep labs, good sleep lab RTs and tech and even good sleep doctors. Its just that there aren't ENOUGH of the GOOD ones to go around!!!

And more importantly, most of us really appreciate learning about xPAP therapy and the medical profession's side of xPAP therapy from caring, interested RTs and other sleep medicine professionals who take the time to drop in here.

[birdshell]

Thankfully my insurance carrier, ConnectiCare, dropped Apria becuase of complaints. I can attest... dealing with Apria's total incompentent, unresponsive people is a frustrating experience.

You know, it occurs to me that MAYBE if ALL of you who have had problems with Apria were to complain to your insurance companies with documentation, there may be AT LEAST a negotiation with Apria on the part of the insurance company.

I only thank my lucky stars that there is no Apria outlet here in my area, or at least none that I need to contact for anything. My DME provider is frustrating enough.

However, I had a very unsatisfactory deal occur with Medco by Mail prescriptions. I complained to my wonderful insurance company and they were heading into negotiations with Medco to address other similar problems and added my evidence to the mix.

If only their error hadn't been life-threatening, potentially. There is also a 3 month supply of a medication floating around out there.... And, we wonder how folks get illicit drugs.

In the best interests of all concerned, including Apria, may I encourage all of you to complain in writing with as much documentation of your problem as you can. Then maybe a follow-up e-mail and/or phone call to be sure it wasn't "lost".

That chickadee at your Apria office surely cannot be an RT, can she?

And as our own RT says, it is important to learn from folks around us. One thing I always loved about teaching in the computer labs was the things I learned from my students.

[christinequilts]

I said "That's regular policies. This is a college policy. If you call them, they'll tell you that." She REFUSED to call the insurance company.

That is one thing I don't miss about insurance through grad school- no one ever believes you that things can be that different from 'real' insurance. Mine had a weird clause where Rx's were 20% copay brand name, $5 on generics, but once I hit a certain amount paid in, brand name was covered 100%....but yeap, you guessed, still had a $5 copay on generics Good thing I had understanding doctors who had no problem checking the 'dispense as written' box

And Apria- I dealt with them as my DME of record for all of 1 hour for a different DME need. Considering I called back within 5 minutes of placing my first & only order to cancel it, that should have been the end of. But no, it didn't get canceled like they said it would and the stuff showed up on my doorstep a couple days later. And then because it was a product with a very short shelf life, they wouldn't take it back (and we were talking a couple thousand dollars worth). Maybe if they hadn't screwed it up, I might of went with them- I was desperate & in the middle of shopping for a DME I could rely on long term. Apria was the second DME I fired...thank goodness the third time was a charm & I'm still using the same DME 6 years, and well over $150,000 in equipment & supplies later.