My DME Horror Story

[Lurch]

I've been reading a number of horror stories here on the forum, and from what's been described it's shocking indeed. At first I didn't believe how an industry could be so inconvenient, ruthless and outright deceptive to make a buck off the misfortunes of others... that was until I started dealing with my local DME, here in Fredericksburg, Texas.

It all started after my second sleep study, which confirmed that I would need a CPAP machine, as I responded very well to the sleep lab tests on CPAP. So, after checking with my insurance I found that the local DME in town was covered and that I could go through them. The next nearest DME was over an hour drive away in Austin, and dealing with cpap.com would require me to deal with the insurance myself to get reimbursed, which I was told could be complex and time consuming.

Anyway, I started an email dialogue with one of the sales reps there and at first I was reassured that everything would be OK. I was told the DME had one of the best sleep tech's in the area, and would work with my insurance. During my emails to this sales rep I stressed a number of times I wanted a S9 Resmed Elite with the Climateline hose, since I heard that DME's like to do a bait and switch to a "brick" to make more money on the deal.

A week later after my doctor faxes the prescription to the DME, off I go to pick up my new CPAP. Once there, and after filling out a pile of paperwork, I was shown my machine. It all look very nice with its carrying case, but I asked if it was the Elite and I was told blank to my face it was. However, I looked on the side of the box and it said Escape. I once again asked him if he was sure it was an Elite and he said it was, despite it saying Escape on the box and on the top of the machine. I pointed this out and he was still adamant that it was an elite.

At this stage I'm thinking this guy is outright scamming me, since after I point out the word printed "Escape", on the machine and box, he just gave me this dumb struck look and said that it was an Elite. So this guy was either a bold face liar or just plain stupid.

Anyway, he proceeds to enter the prescription pressure data on the machine.

Strike 1 - After looking over the machine, spending about 3 minutes trying to work out how to attach the Humidifier to the CPAP ( taking 3 tries to put the two halves together, with his first attempt with the humidifier upside down ), he told me that this was only the second machine of this type he set up. OK, not feeling confident here.

Strike 2 - He didn't know how to attach the power cable. The S9 Resmed has a separate power brick that is plugged into the CPAP, with a power cable going from the wall into the power brick. At first he tried to plug the power cord directly into the CPAP, and wondered why there wasn't a figure-8 port in the back of the CPAP. Only after looking in the carry case and seeing the power brick, did he realize that the power brick needed to be plugged in. This took him about 5 minutes to figure out, a rather awkward 5 minutes sitting at his desk watching him fiddle around with it, mind you.

Strike 3 - He didn't know how to put the S9 ResMed unit into clinic mode, to enter the data. At first he starts looking through the patient manual, that comes in the carry case, looking at how to do this. Any capable DME tech should know that the patient manual NEVER has this information, and that you need the clinician manual to do this. So, after spending another 10 minutes trying to find the instructions in the patient manual, he finally calls ResMed tech support and gets them to explain to him how to do this.

FYI: To set it into Clinic mode, do this:



Or go to this webpage with the full details:

http://www.apneaboard.com/ResMed/ResMed ... Setup.html

So, after this comedy of errors and ignorance, I realized that pushing the point in asking for an Elite model was pointless as this guy was well... as we say in the IT industry... a walking ID-10-T error. I think in future I might just take that drive into Austin for my next CPAP machine, or pay up front and get it from cpap.com.

[nanwilson]

NO it is NOT pointless to insist....its YOUR health. Take it back and get what you want, you are paying for health insurance so why are you not getting what you NEED. If you don't take it back now you may be stuck with a brick for several years...whatever is the turn over for machines with your healthcare inssurance. Don't lay down and accept this..its criminal! If they think they can roll over on every patient think about the money they are making off of your back

[nudave]

My question is: If you knew it was a brick and the DME tech had no idea what was going on, why did you accept it and take it home?

[Lurch]

My question is: If you knew it was a brick and the DME tech had no idea what was going on, why did you accept it and take it home?

Yoy got me, I have no excuse. I just got fed up with dealing with the idiot tech, and I wanted to start my treatment ASAP, so I whimped out.

At the time I thought so long as the escape does the job, then it should be enough for what I need. Then again, reflecting on the situation, as I answer this question, it was probably me trying to justify my actions of being a pussy.

[archangle]

"a walking ID-10-T error"

AHEM!!!

[Janknitz]

Say something happened to your BMW sedan and the insurance company agreed to replace it with a vehicle of equal value, would you be happy driving away with a two door KIA???? That's essentially what's happened here. The DME was slicker than a car salesman! He's good!!!!!

There's still a chance. Pack up that brick and take it back today. Insist on getting the Elite you requested. IF this was all done by email--you have a written record of the agreement to provide you with an Elite, not an Escape. Ask your doctor to help by rewriting the prescription to either specify the Elite or to require "patient access to AHI and leak data" . See also "Help, I'm stuck with a Brick" in my blog. Time is of the essence, don't delay.

You're going to be stuck with this machine for the next 5 years or so. That's five years of having no idea if it is working well or not, no way of diagnosing a problem if one occurs. You took the time to learn about different CPAP machines and you know what benefit data can be, so get out there an advocate for yourself. Don't let this not too smart DME get the better of you.

[archangle]

If it's on insurance, it's probably a rental unit anyway. You'll probably only be stuck with one month's rental, if that.

The quality of monitoring you can do with an Elite vs. an Escape is enormous. The Elite is like having a "mini" sleep lab all night, every night. You can evaluate how many sleep problems events you can have every night. You can see waveforms of your actual breathing and figure out things like "did I stop breathing for 15 seconds or for 50 seconds." The only thing the Escape records is how long you had it on each night.

Since he told you it was an Elite when asked you have a pretty good claim that what he sold you is not what you paid for and you want an exchange. Check the model number with ResMed and see if it's really an Elite or not.

[kempo]

Lurch, go to the bathroom and look at yourself in the mirror and say, " Why do I let people do this to me?". Then pack up the machine and take it back. You will not only get what you want, you will feel better about yourself.

[Bobby269]

Do you have a Provida care Company in your area? There are at least 3 of this Company in Texas one of which is in San Antonio. This Company gives new meaning to the word honest. Right off the bat they gave me a brand new Resmed S9 autoset unit.( not escape ) You have 30 days to try each mask and can return it for a new one.
This time I ordered a cusion for my mask and some filters. No complaining and I received the complete order in 7 days. They call you back immediately.

[pap4life]

Singing...""Take this CPAP and shove it""..... Put the dog in the front seat, and take a ride to AUSTIN..Quick!!!!!

and this horror story is just about tgetting the new cpap.. can't wait for the replacement parts story..

[dwynne]

or pay up front and get it from cpap.com

If your insurance is like mine, cppap.com would be "out of network" so my deductible and max out of pocket would double. So not as much a question of having to pay and get the money back as having to pay and get nothing back...

[zeeclass]

I would call the DME provider and ask for a supervisor BEFORE you go back there. Tell the supervisor what happened and insist that you get the machine you wanted. Tell them you want it set up when you get there. If they refuse to give it to you, ask them to give you reasons why they refuse. You may even want to get your doctor involved.

I don't like to take sh*t from people, especially "clerks" who don't really know what they're doing. I would go over the head of the technician and get "an adult" at the DME office to help you out with this.

[Lurch]

After reading the replies here, I fired off an email to the DME, to let them know I got an S9 Escape rather than an Elite and to know what they would do about it. WELL!! It looks like someone got their nappy in a bunch over there.

Firstly I get a reply from the sales rep stating that the unit I got was what I asked for, since I apparently said I wanted an S9 Resmed unit but didn't specify which one. This was an outright lie, since if you read the replies from previous emails, you can see three times that I said S9 Resmed Elite.

Then I got another email from the sales rep, saying that the insurance would only cover that unit, and that the Escape is all that they carry.

Finally I got a third email by what appears to be the supervisor of the DME, stating that, and I quote...

"I looked into the unit you wanted and the company told us that the only time you need the S9 Elite is if your doctor or a specialist is requesting it and is going to be doing experimenting pressure changes that allows them to store a lot of data captures, other than that they are exactly the same humidificated units."

...So unless I had a proven need from my doctor to require an Elite, I would only be "eligible" for an Escape model.

It was evident to me from that final email the DME was taking a "Our way or the highway" approach to my situation, so I won't be doing business with them in future. What sucks about the situation, is that my insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield, will only replace the machine ever 5 years, and I have to sign a declaration that I haven't purchased a machine within that time. So I can't go anywhere else, now that I've signed off on the brick, without bearing the full price of the unit.

[TalonNYC]

I would call the DME provider and ask for a supervisor BEFORE you go back there. Tell the supervisor what happened and insist that you get the machine you wanted.

It's beyond that, tell the supervisor that you demand the machine that your DOCTOR PRESCRIBED! In every state in the union it is illegal for a medical professional to dispense drugs or equipment that do not match the prescription, full stop. If your doc prescribed the Elite, then that is what they MUST give you if they want to stay licensed. Granted, your doc has to write "Dispense as Written" or "DAW" somewhere on the Rx, but if he did that and they STILL gave you the Escape, they can get into serious legal trouble.

[Mike6977]

1) File a complaint with your Attorney Generals office. They may even have an online form for you to fill out. Nine out of ten times, this will do the trick.

2) If that doesn't work, and you've still got the emails, take the bastards to small claims court. Small filing fee, and with the emails, you've got an open an shut case.

In other words, fellow CPAPer, don't, uh, take this lying down.

I didn't believe how an industry could be so inconvenient, ruthless and outright deceptive to make a buck off the misfortunes of others...

Wait till your introduced to oncology.