CPAP rental- fair price?

I know, PR, I get a bit worked up myself.

Calm, calm, you are being transported to a calm place where none of this matters... just picture the waves, the sand, the sun and... oh grab a beer!

grayghost4 wrote:pr go attache the hose and relax

thanks, I'm better now... a shot of 100 proof rye helped too.

I just slipped and fell into my champagne glass,
Ooh, the bubbles tickle my . . . nose.

chunkyfrog wrote:I just slipped and fell into my champagne glass,
Ooh, the bubbles tickle my . . . nose.

I'd long wondered what you were hanging onto in your photograph.

I am going through the exorbitant rental dance too.
My ASV rental is $393/mo and I will never own it. I have been complaining gently while my insurance was paying 100%. But in January (my 13th Month) I will have a 20% copay. My voice is getting louder but the folks at the insurance company don't even seem to understand English.
I say up and they hear sideways or inside out.
Monday morning I start the next round of discussions.

Hmmm, another complete rip off by the doctor, DME and the insurance company. I have a new insurance company this year with $500/mo premiums and $6,000 deductible. When I tried to get a data capable machine through the DME approved by my insurance company, I was told that I needed to pay up front since my deductible was $6,000. The price was $3,000 for a ResMed Airset 10 and a ResMed full face mask.

I DECLINED!!

I bought my blower and humidifier second hand (although very mildly used) and then purchased a variety of new masks from Craigslist. I could have bought everything online and still only paid about 1/3 of what my DME wanted. My DME told me the $3,000 was for the machine, humidifier, mask, supplies and a respiratory specialist to meet with me and set the machine up. The $3,000 is what is negotiated with my insurance company. The funny thing is that is the price whether the machine supplied is cheap or expensive. They usually supply a pretty cheap machine (called a brick here) unless the doctor specifies a specific machine in which case the have to supply the one the prescription calls for.

My advice, dump the rental stuff and buy outright yourself. It will be much cheaper and the good folks here can help you set it up, tweak it over time and help you read, interpret and understand the reports.

I certainly hope others have had a better experience with their insurance company and DME..

Jack

SOP with the usual POS.

alphastar wrote:I just got diagnosed with sleep apnea by my physician and he sent me to get a machine through his hospital supply store. I got a DS560S Remstar with a humidifier DS6H. I'm renting the machine for $138 a month and the humidifier for $45 a month. On the rental agreement the machine is $1651 and the humidifier is $380. Is that reasonable? Seems really high to me. I went online and checked prices and the machine is only $639 and the humidifier is $189 to purchase outright.

alphastar, please check your inbox.

d

My insurance is paying a local DME between $1800 and $1900 for my setup ($800+ initally and then 10 months at $101) I could buy the exact same setup for $1024 delivered from the host of this forum (https://www.cpap.com) and right at $900 delivered from amazon. I am blessed that my insurance pays 100% as long as the DME is "in network" so its costing me nothing out of pocket, but wow at the disparity in pricing. I will be buying any consumables or "extras" from either this site or amazon as my insurance will not pay for any replacement stuff until the machine is paid for.

Counting my blessings!!! My insurance pays 100% but I had not reached my deductible so I paid out of pocket for the initial set up. After that my insurance kicked in and pays $52 a month for 10 months. I can get 2 nasal pillows a month, new hose and head gear when due. The only stipulation insurance puts on me is a yearly visit to my prescribing doctor. Not a bad deal overall.

One thing to be aware of is to make sure that whatever you pay counts against your deductible, too. If you had a heart attack or stroke tomorrow -- or heck, if you needed 6 weeks of physical therapy for an achilles tendon injury (BTDT) -- you will blow through a $7500 deductible pretty quickly. That goes for the sleep study and doctors appointments, too.

cathyf wrote:One thing to be aware of is to make sure that whatever you pay counts against your deductible, too. If you had a heart attack or stroke tomorrow -- or heck, if you needed 6 weeks of physical therapy for an achilles tendon injury (BTDT) -- you will blow through a $7500 deductible pretty quickly. That goes for the sleep study and doctors appointments, too.

Anything done out of network may not be applied to your "in-network" deductible.
Two deductibles, separate-but not equal. Out of network, if covered at all, has higher deductibles and higher co-pays.
Thanks for nothing, BCBS!