Adios Apria! Hello Bay State Medical!

I long ago resigned myself to having to put up with the fuckup of a company known as Apria Healthcare. How are they such a shitshow? Please excuse me for not giving a list; I don’t need the agita.

So I’m due for a new machine. I don’t even bother calling A****. I know they’ll demand a new sleep study, amongst a million other things. But to get one done, I needed a new ENT. My guy either retired or bought a farm. Lord knows he’s gotta be rich enough by making his patients come for an in-per$on visit after the $leep $tudy to “discu$$” the re$ult$. Really? He wants me to come in just to hand me an Rx. He doesn’t even have his staff send the results to the DME. And for this privilege, I get to spend a $75 “speciality” co-pay and waste half a day. Can’t even have the decency to do telehealth appointments.

My new provider was a delight. She said I don’t need to take a sleep study. The at-home version works and is far cheaper so insurance companies prefer that. The only issue was there was a 10 day waiting list for the equipment. They have only one kit. Anyways we start talking about equipment should my prescription come back around the expected level of H2O. Airsense 11, heated tubing, p30i mask — she stopped me there. Asked if I ever tried the Dreamwear mask before. Nope. She pulled one out and a new cushion and strapped me in. It seemed comfy enough but I know the real decision is only made after a night of sleep. She called the cushion a cradle, because it was like most CPAP pillow systems, but it doesn’t go inside your schnoz. I said, ok, let’s do that. And then I added, “But I’m already dreading calling A****. I hate them.” Her grimace said she agreed with me. She said her favorite CPAP DME was Bay State Medical. I said I’ll take a chance, what have I got to lose? So after my at-home study results came back, she sent me a portal message saying she was sending the order to BME. The next morning I get a call from BME with a CSR asking to confirm my shipping address and told me the shipment would go out that afternoon and I’d get it in “a few days”. The very next morning a big box appeared on my porch. Talk about fast!

However, I was really busy. I was going out of town the next day, so I just unboxed everything and packed it up for travel. I’d give it a test on the road. I wisely took my current mask with me, just in case the new one didn’t work out for me. I’m glad I did, because the “cradle” cushion was leaking enough air to be bothersome. The Dreamware also has pillows, so I looked up BME and settled in for battle with a phone tree and AI. The joke was on me. I had to hit 2, maybe 3 buttons before a human picked up the line. Gave her my name, DOB, told her what I wanted and she said it’s on the way. Soup to nuts the entire call (including looking up the number) was under 4 minutes. I should have had them ship it to my out of town address, because I’m still on the road. But by the time I do actually get home, I’d still be waiting on equipment with A**** <spits>. All’s well that ends well. I had a follow-up with my provider (telehealth visit) and she told me to try switching to the small cradle instead of the pillows. And to my surprise she was right, they do fit better. But I’ve got to adjust the mask so it’s not strangling me.

TL;DR: F Apria Healthcare. Get your CPAP supplies fast fast fast with 99% of the headaches removed! No giant call trees, no long hold times, no hassle! Think back to a time when Apria kicked you in the sack…. Now use that anger and switch to Bay State Medical. My only sadness is that I wish I had discovered them a decade ago.