Regarding ResMed price increase contact Resmed

Dale92 · Post by **Dale92** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 9:39 am

I am sorry if this is too long. I am posting this in case others would like to contact ResMed about their price increase. I emailed the following to ResMed at this email address: reception@resmed.com . I know others have emailed in the past to this same email address and had no replies but I wanted to have my voice heard so I gave it a shot. I tried to be respectful not belligerent and to make the point that they are hurting us the consumer.

To Whom It May Concern:
I suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea. I see you have made it official you are enforcing a policy that requires internet providers to raise prices on ResMed products in what you call an effort to require internet providers to offer follow-up service maintenance and education. This is supposedly being done because you feel that internet providers are causing low compliance with therapy compared to brick and mortar businesses.

I can only take what you say at face value, maybe you really do mean to look out for people suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Maybe you really do think this is going to help keep people in compliance, I can only guess you feel you are looking out for us. I can only hope this is your true aim and not just trying to appease brick and mortar companies who are losing money because customers are purchasing products online at far reduced cost. From the stand point of one who suffers from OSA I have to tell you your policy will only end up hurting customers not helping them. Even though I am but a single customer I know many other OSA sufferers who are of the same opinion.

I will give you but one example, my own. I was diagnosed in mid 2005 with OSA by a sleep study and after consulting my sleep specialist he gave me over to a “brick and mortar” DME supplier. This supplier sent a respiratory therapist to my door with my equipment hooked up my CPAP to my interface and said call me if you need me. Sounded real good but the therapist new less about Sleep Apnea and the equipment than I did. After problems with my mask interface he did follow up but told me I only had one other mask to choose from and if that didn’t work then he didn’t know what I could do. The other mask did not work for me; if there would not have been an online dealer such as CPAP.com that I could turn to for help I would have quit my therapy long ago. Even the “brick and mortar’ business did little to improve my therapy, they knew no more than I did about OSA which was only a small part of their business. CPAP.com provides great educational information and answers all of my questions. I have had far better service from them than I have ever received from a brick and mortar business.

This is not a plea brought by online retailers but only by me. This action you are taking if followed by other companies would severely hurt the abilities of online suppliers of OSA equipment to stay viable. Who would you end up hurting in the end, online suppliers of course, but the main brunt would be borne by those of us who need these online suppliers - yes because of their lower cost – it give us more opportunities to try new equipment instead of giving up. If you are truly concerned about the customer please reconsider this policy change. You may be forcing many to give up OSA treatment because of your choice to force online retailers to raise prices to meet brick and mortar stores.

I know some who are calling for a boycott of ResMed products. Will that hurt ResMed - not much unless other companies fail to enact the same policy with online stores but it will in the end hurt those you have chosen to serve, us your customers.

End of letter
Maybe if we all voice our concerns to ResMed they will at least understand who they are hurting the most.

Dale

Bonnie · Post by **Bonnie** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 11:21 am

I have a real hard time with any LARGE corporation professing the "doing this for the customer" . Money is the main reason, plain and simple. That is what they are in business for and that is their bottom line. I work for a large corporation owned by an investment group. Key word here, investment. ResMed is a member of the NYSE, last time I looked any company making money for their shareholders cares about dollars, not the people buying the product earning them the dollars. Face it, people. for every 100 of we users ticked off about this and GET it, there are thousands of users who don't. Those are the customers ResMed likes, ResMed really doesn't give a rat's behind about us.

Dale92 · Post by **Dale92** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 11:49 am

Bonnie I realize they don't care about us but it is a face they present to the public. I was only trying to politely tell them that people really do realize what they are doing. If I were to just say "ResMed you are a bunch of expletives they would not even read the letter. Not that I have much illusion of them taking the time to read the one I sent. Just thought I would try.

Dale

Bonnie · Post by **Bonnie** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:44 pm

I agree with what you did, your letter was excellent and I would hope and pray that someone at ResMed would read it and perhaps think about the very good points you made. I, unfortunately, couldn't write such an eloquent and nice letter, I'm not as polite as you are

Bonnie · Post by **Bonnie** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:45 pm

By the way, Dale, I'm from Wisconsin, too

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 3:25 pm

Bonnie wrote:By the way, Dale, I'm from Wisconsin, too

Me too!

oldgearhead · Post by **oldgearhead** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 3:48 pm

ResMed's reason for the surcharge is compliance? I wonder if they
conducted a scientific poll to determine if the percentage of people in
compliance purchased their stuff from an internet DME vs. a bricks & mortar
DME. I think not. Maybe someone should....

Rastaman · Post by **Rastaman** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 3:59 pm

I wonder if several bad review to the Better Business Bureau would help? Or some similar place? Each company seems to set themselves up where they can make as much money as possible and no one can touch them, let alone voice an opinion that actually gets recieved.

I suspect what many of you suspect. I suspect the fix is in. I suspect all companies will follow suit. I suspect this is all for money. I suspect that no amount of logic, crying, etc. will work. It's similar to a child trying to reason with their parents. "We're doing this for your own good."

Dale92 · Post by **Dale92** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 5:01 pm

Hey glad to here from my fellow Wisconsinites! Any of you near the Rapids area? Nice to know I am not the only one in Wisconsin suffering from OSA

For everyone who responded, I think we all need to at least make our voices heard. That may mean as Rastaman suggested contacting the Better Business Bureau or as I have done contacting the company directly. I do not doubt that this price fixing will go into effect for ResMeds products at least for the short term but if other companies that supply OSA equipment hear of the uproar will they think twice about it, who knows? It can't hurt to complain at least they know we are upset. If no one says anything they will feel that we will take anything they will shove at us for any price they feel like charging.

Dale

Bonnie · Post by **Bonnie** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 5:19 pm

Milwaukee area....Wading???

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 6:08 pm

Resmed is nothing but another publicly held Wall Street whore. They only listen to what stockholders and analysts have to say. Those types are not interested in hearing what you the customer have to say.

Go visit their website, you won't find that press release where they are going to raise prices by 40%, I just checked it yesterday both in Investor and General release sections, could not find it in either one. Wonder what the SEC has to say about that.

Then look at where this is all coming from, TAS suckered everyone into taking another one of their stupid on-line survey, then got in bed with Resmed. Doesn't surprise me. Their prices have always been ridiculously high to begin with you would have to be living under a rock to buy from them. They are not past rewriting your posts to suit their own financial gain either. It is why all the regulars over the years have left.

Who runs Resmed? 1 on-line survey study from TAS, not even a scientific study and corporate Resmed changes its distributor pricing policy, yes they put a lot of research behind that decision now didn't they.

Fact is Resmed didn't listen to the patient before so what makes you think they are going to listen now?

Vote with your wallet, that is the only thing whores understand.

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 6:59 pm

I think there's also something they're missing here. My insurance allows me one mask every six months. If the online companies are not allowed to sell at better prices than DMEs are charging our insurance companies, what are we supposed to do during those six-month periods when the mask we ordered and had paid for via insurance doesn't work and we need to go out-of-pocket for another but can't afford one? Nothing? Resmed and all the other mask-producing companies will be cutting off their noses to spite their faces because we won't be able to buy masks ourselves because the prices they are forcing the online sites to charge are going to be so overpriced for a customer who is paying out-of pocket that the personal sales end will have to drop off.

I think most people wouldn't own as many masks if they had to pay the prices that these insurance companies are being charged by the DMEs because we couldn't afford to. Saying it's supposed to be in the best interests of the patient is a bunch of hogwash (and that's being said politely). I think perhaps a petition might be in order letting Resmed know what a hardship this will create on the patient, and letting them know that this will affect their bottom line in the longrun, too, when most of the "little people" cannot afford to buy at the prices they want to sell at. But to throw it out there and say it's looking out for the consumer/patient? Grrrrrrrr!!!!!

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 7:45 pm

Bonnie wrote:Milwaukee area....Wading???

Yes... Waukesha

Sleepy-in-AL · Post by **Sleepy-in-AL** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 8:06 pm

Sleepless on LI wrote:I think there's also something they're missing here. My insurance allows me one mask every six months. If the online companies are not allowed to sell at better prices than DMEs are charging our insurance companies, what are we supposed to do during those six-month periods when the mask we ordered and had paid for via insurance doesn't work and we need to go out-of-pocket for another but can't afford one? Nothing? Resmed and all the other mask-producing companies will be cutting off their noses to spite their faces because we won't be able to buy masks ourselves because the prices they are forcing the online sites to charge are going to be so overpriced for a customer who is paying out-of pocket that the personal sales end will have to drop off.

My insurance company, Blue something Blue something, allows for all xPAP related supplies "as medically necessary." No one can really tell me what that means, but in practice it definately seems to mean 1 mask every 6 months or less and I have to go back to the Dr for a new prescription to get that. They say I have to have a prescription for replacement pollen filters and again "as medically necessary" whatever that means.

So while I'm not as much of a mask junkie as some, give it time I'm only in my second month of therapy, I've already bought 2 masks out of pocket and 2 hopefully on the insurance companies dime. I say hopefully because my DME still hasn't submitted the claim for my initial setup after 2 months. But on the brighter side, if the initial reviews are any indication, maybe I won't become a mask junkie and I'll be ecstatic with the hybrid when it gets here.

By the way, I also sent an E-Mail to reception@resmed.com back when the first thread came up. I expressed my dissatisfaction with thier intended policy and told them that I had contacted the authorities mentioned in my earlier post to consider whether this constituted insurance fraud. I was polite, not ranting, and I believe respectful in the e-mail. As you can image, like everyone else here, I haven't heard from them. But I do agree that we should all keep the e-mail going to them.

Krelvin · Post by **Krelvin** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 8:15 pm

Rastaman wrote:I wonder if several bad review to the Better Business Bureau would help?

It doesn't work that way.

The BBB doesn't do "reviews" but rather complaints about a transaction that went bad. You have to have had a business transaction with the company specifically where they did something wrong.

Since the proposed price increases have not yet happened, there is no business transaction yet. Again, nothing to report.

Even if they raised prices like they said they planned on doing, you would still not have a complaint over the price unless they billed you more than they said they were going to. Only if they didn't honor some part of the transaction would you have a complaint.

Even then... what are the chances you are going to buy something directly from that company? Especially if don't agree with their pricing? That wouldn't make any sense.

What you can do is shop with your feet.

If you don't like their prices, as a consumer, don't buy from them.

Humidifier

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Mask

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