I have a couple questions for you guys that track data

[roster]

So here's what I am wanting to know. It seems to me that no one in the process of treatment of OSA can do right by most of you.

The ins wants proof your using a machine that they are fronting most the payments for.....
The DME Provider wants paid on a service they are offering.....(assume just this once that they are a great company to work with)
The Dr trying to get you started on treatment that he knows will benefit you.....(even if you do take matters into your own hands)

you say all they care about is the money..... Well they are business's they do what they do to make money. Thats like talking crap on a fast food place for not giving you food for free. Well guess how long they would last if they handed out free food, Not long all you can do as a consumer is hope that business pays someone who is willing to help you out as much as you need. Which in my book comes down to the type of person they hire to represent them. disappointing truth here is that it sounds like 80% of you have had lazy people that only go to work to collect a check which means there concern starts and stops at there wallet.

This has been an action packed day guys! Pretty good topic discussion for my first thread. Eh?

Trying to wrap this group in a nice little bundle of summary statements is a lazy man's way to organize his thoughts and opinions. There is great diversity in the members here. Spend some time and you will find out.

.........The ins wants proof your using a machine that they are fronting most the payments for.....
.........

Wrong, I have no problem with insurance companies and Medicare asking for compliance data.

...........The DME Provider wants paid on a service they are offering..... you say all they care about is the money.....

Wrong, if you are saying we all believe DMEs only have profit in mind. I don't want anything for free and I prefer dealing with people who have the profit motive in mind. Generally they treat me better than others because they want repeat business and they can fail without it. This market is distorted by government (Medicare mainly) and employer-provided health insurance.

........The Dr trying to get you started on treatment that he knows will benefit you..... ..........

Wrong. The doctor is prescribing treatment that he incorrectly thinks will benefit me. The prescriptions I had for pressure settings, sleeping meds, antidepressants, and sedatives were all the wrong solutions and inappropriate.

Try again another day.

[boston]

yeah, by that last post, im not sure if i still like this guy or if i want to break my foot off in his ass.

[fuzzy96]

yeah but boston -- if you break your foot you'll have to go there for crutches lmao

think about it

[roster]

yeah but boston -- if you break your foot you'll have to go there for crutches lmao

think about it

Good one. Fuzzy, the Fillozefur.

[DoriC]

Hi Mike, aren't you glad you started this lively "discussion". I can't really add much except that I'm a spouse overseeing my husband's therapy. My first thought after we turned to the DME with all the usual adjustment problems(they didn't seem usual then)and got nothing but a lot of eye-rolling and fake answers, was that anyone dealing with patients should be required to use the equipment for at least a week to understand a little of what it's like for newbies. At least you know so that's good. If I hadn't done my homework here, I would never have known about data-capable machines, software, most popular FF masks, and all the important comfort accessories that make for success. And only here was I patiently taught how to use our machine correctly and to zero in on the best therapy settings The DME has never ever made a followup call in all these 7months, never asked for any compliance data and never told us about Medicare's replacement schedule. Hope to see you here again. Dori

[TSSleepy]

Bah! None of the above is relevant, from my point of view. CPAPs should be sold over the counter for a couple hundred bucks each.

[Mike@TibroMedical]

god you guys can be touchy my break down about ins dme and dr were more of a way to see what you've experienced with each one that cause's so much hate. and like 4 of you replied perfectly broke down each one and explained from your side which is exactly what i wanted. and now i have a better understanding some of what you guys have said is fraud plane and simple. so point taken. Now I gotta mention I'm on thin ice with you guys cause of what I do, and I've yet to take anything personally I've really enjoyed this discussion. but i come to th but i come to the table with one idea that non of you seemed to enjoy, and all the sudden people want to break there foot off in my ass? really? I'm the one that should be defensive, I got the cpaptalk.com world ready to hate on me. but thats cool it's worth so far.


P.S im typing this on my phone so please forgive the grammer

[Mike@TibroMedical]

For those that have dealt with bad DME's. Have you ever complained to your ins? About the lack of service your getting but that the ins pays for? I've had pt's call us with there ins on the line cause they've complained about praxair and want to switch providers. So me the pt and the ins rep call praxair explain the situation and what I need from them. It goes very smoothly when ins reps are on the phone lol

[nobody]

It's hard to take you seriously when you use English so poorly.

[Wulfman]

Mike,

As you've probably noticed, there's a lot of pent-up hostility towards certain segments of the businesses involved in this therapy.
We've all had different experiences, but most of us carry the scars of some type of "combat".
Since you're also an PAP user (your profile shows Bi-PAP), you at least have some connection to this group.

Hang in there and roll with the punches.


Den

[Mike@TibroMedical]

It's hard to take you seriously when you use English so poorly.

It's a forum god forbid if I I am not typing my replys to your standard. As I stated few post back I am typing on my phone so it won't be flawless

[cflame1]

Mike, I didn't complain about my first DME... because I no longer use them.

I purchased my machine using my HSA spending account through an online auction. Never once met the doc that scored my original study... only time that I heard from his office was when he wanted paid.

The original DME... once I purchased my machine on my own... the RT refused to take my calls... so whatever I know, I've learned here as he taught me nothing... wasn't even willing to take my calls if I paid him, and at the time I would have done that.

Yeah... enough said about that. I found my own sleep doc... and he's awesome! With him came a new local DME for the stuff that I need local... like when the sleep doc says that the machine needs to be checked (it's a pressure check). They do all the stuff to satisfy the insurance... and if I've met my deductible I might even buy a mask through them (maybe as my insurance would prefer that I use Apria... and I wouldn't). Most of my supplies come out of pocket from CPAP dot com. Much better prices than what the local DME charges.

Really though... my current local DME is great. They call and tell me what they've been told... and I do it (though most times I know what it is before they call me)... they've seen my machine all of once. They've downloaded it all of once... I download more often then that... but they're on the other side of the city and usually only work while I'm working. I don't want to have to be home for them to have to come over. Would rather either go to them or call them.

[Kiralynx]

For those that have dealt with bad DME's. Have you ever complained to your ins? About the lack of service your getting but that the ins pays for? I've had pt's call us with there ins on the line cause they've complained about praxair and want to switch providers. So me the pt and the ins rep call praxair explain the situation and what I need from them. It goes very smoothly when ins reps are on the phone lol

Mike,

I just went round the mulberry bush on prying a replacement schedule out of either Apria, my insurance, or SOMEONE.

viewtopic/t40925/Replacement-Schedules.html

Plenty of "feel good" reaching out business, and no SERVICE. That's the main reason so many people are hostile to DMEs. I can get fast, free, two-day service from online DMEs. The DME my insurance pays for? 5-7 days. If I'm lucky. I was plenty hostile a couple weeks ago when I was deathly sick with a respiratory infection, could not use my nasal pillows, and was told I had to wait a week to get a full-face mask. And my insurance basically shrugged and said, "That's the way it is if you want us to pay for it."

[Kiralynx]

It's hard to take you seriously when you use English so poorly.

Nobody, I'm clearly doomed! I suffer from a serious case of typokinesis. I know very well what I MEAN to say, but somehow, my fingers don't type it, and my eyes don't see the mistakes before I hit the SEND key!

[nobody]

And yet you're doing so much better than this guy...

It's hard to take you seriously when you use English so poorly.

Nobody, I'm clearly doomed! I suffer from a serious case of typokinesis. I know very well what I MEAN to say, but somehow, my fingers don't type it, and my eyes don't see the mistakes before I hit the SEND key!