Newly diagnosed, waiting for BiPAP

[BustaTC]

I just wanted to introduce myself. I am 32 and have recently been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea with a Apnea/hypopnea index of 106. I believe that I have had sleep apnea my entire life as I have always been a loud snorer and even when very young can remember having issues with sleep. I had a sleep study where I slept normally for half the night and then got put on a cpap/bipap for the second half of the night. They tried cpap first but ended up changing it to bipap and testing settings. In the end they said I did well on a bilevel at 17/14 with an EPR of 3, and that is what they prescribed for me.

I have been doing a ton of research on machines and sleep apnea in general and this forum has provided a lot of valuable information. After having my sleep test in December my doctor sent my prescription over to a medical supply company for a bipap with heated humidification. The company was trying to charge me $750 up front and then $450 a month for 12 months. That is over $6,000 dollars for a bipap. My insurance is pretty much useless so I would be paying for the majority of this out of pocket. I then began to research other options and found secondwindcpap dot com in the forums. After doing a bunch of research I reached out and have ordered a New open box ResMed S9 VPAP S w/ heated humidifier. I got tracking information yesterday and it should be delivered tomorrow. I cannot wait to get real sleep!

[ChicagoGranny]

I then began to research other options and found secondwindcpap dot com in the forums. After doing a bunch of research I reached out and have ordered a New open box ResMed S9 VPAP S w/ heated humidifier.

Excellent! You did your work as a consumer! (Most don't. They are ... What does Jim call them? .... Sheeple!)

Welcome aboard.

[sawinglogz]

Welcome!

As I've mentioned to others, you should separately compare the economics of using your insurance for supplies only. Sometimes insurance is worse for the machine but better for supplies, sometimes not.

[Guest]

Unfortunately my insurance will only cover anything after a very high deductible is met. Before then I am paying out of my pocket. So it looks as though I will be paying for everything my self.

[Sir NoddinOff]

Little known fact: Many sleep doctors will prescribe supplies only to your insurance company (deductibles aside for a moment). This Rx is strictly apart from a machine. It can include masks, hoses, even humidifiers and heated hoses. It doesn't necessarily matter if you go 'out of pocket' for your own machine, as many people choose to do. This is especially true if your sleep clinic is in bed with a major DME like Apria or Lincare who typically inflate their insurance billings. After all is said and done, the sleep doctors always get a nice kickback on all the additional stuff that is sold to you over the years. I know this is true because my sleep doctor does this for me.

[brian2901]

yes, $6,000 sounds very out of the ordinary. I use secondwind CPAP and have been very happy with their service. Good luck to you

[rakkwhite]

Unfortunately my insurance will only cover anything after a very high deductible is met. Before then I am paying out of my pocket. So it looks as though I will be paying for everything my self.

I'm in the same boat. I am sending in the invoice, which has the billing codes, to my insurance company to apply to my deductible. I found a form on their website to do this. Hopefully some of the amount I paid will be added to my deductible for this year. Even though my deductible is high, I may need something else during the year. It can't hurt!