Rent or Buy

Rickey · Post by **Rickey** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 12:56 pm

Hi. I'm new to sleep apnea. I'm about to talk to the people ,who will supply my machine. Any info on rent or buy ,or other things to ask them. I have a 70/3O ,high deductible(1500) insurance plan. Thanks...

Sir NoddinOff · Post by **Sir NoddinOff** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:03 pm

Rickey wrote:Hi. I'm new to sleep apnea. I'm about to talk to the people ,who will supply my machine. Any info on rent or buy ,or other things to ask them. I have a 70/3O ,high deductible(1500) insurance plan. Thanks...

I don't have any info since I bought almost all my equipment, except to say: add leasing to the list.

LSAT · Post by **LSAT** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:09 pm

Many insurance companies have a rent to buy program. You pay a rental for 12-13 months and then you own the machine. Check out the rental price and you may be better off purchasing on your own....especially if the on line purchase is counted towards your deductable.

chunkyfrog · Post by **chunkyfrog** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:12 pm

Yikes! Your "coverage" . . . Doesn't! They cannot tell you where to buy unless they are PAYING.
Many who are insurance challenged will find it is more economical to buy online.
Try cpap.com (hosts of this forum) for all new or secondwindcpap.com for open box, or gently used machines.
Welcome. Thank goodness you came here before it is too late.
Rental is just a way to collect way more than the selling price. Avoid it.

Sir NoddinOff · Post by **Sir NoddinOff** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 2:19 pm

For further down the road when you are ready to get a machine, no matter how you obtain it, be sure to get a data capable machine... that can be tricky with all the confusing model names and numbers. Here's a database that can help you sort that out. Ask if you need help deciding.

https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment/cpapmachines

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 2:30 pm

Rickey wrote:Hi. I'm new to sleep apnea. I'm about to talk to the people ,who will supply my machine. Any info on rent or buy ,or other things to ask them. I have a 70/3O ,high deductible(1500) insurance plan. Thanks...

Here's another one you need to read.

https://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/what- ... me-part-i/

Have you met your deductible yet? If not, you may be money ahead to buy something out-of-pocket. Too often the prices are seriously inflated.
Also, is the DME (equipment supplier) owned by the doctor or place who did your sleep study?
( You DID have a sleep study, didn't you? )

Den

.

Rickey · Post by **Rickey** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 3:12 pm

Thanks. Don't I need to rent for awhile, to try it out? I'm just not a believer yet...lol
What is the "typical" rent?

library lady · Post by **library lady** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 3:32 pm

I can't tell you what the "typical" rent-to-own" amount is because it varies by insurance and the DME. Once the rental period is over, you will "own" it, whether the price is blown up or typical for the particular model you have. Focus on what it will cost you out of pocket. In my case, it was $18 and change for 13 months under Medicare and MA. If you can, find a non-profit medical center that has its own medical supply store... they usually do not charge more than they should for medical supplies, which are expensive to begin with. At cpap.com they do not take insurance assignments so if you decide to go that route, ask you insurance company if they will reimburse you for their share as most insurance does not reimburse. Cpap.com is generally cheaper than the DMEs and a good option for people w/o insurance or who have high deductibles, so you really need to do some homework and decide what is your best option financially.

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 3:37 pm

Rickey wrote:Thanks. Don't I need to rent for awhile, to try it out? I'm just not a believer yet...lol
What is the "typical" rent?

I don't think it's a typical "rental", per se'. If it involves insurance payments, patient co-pays, etc, it's more like a series of 10 - 13 month payments and at the end of that period it belongs to the patient/insured. But, the patient buys the humidifier outright because they shouldn't be resold/reissued.

I bypassed all that and purchased all of my equipment from CPAP.COM and then created an invoice and submitted it to my insurance provider and they reimbursed me for 80% of my equipment purchase.

Den

.

Goofproof · Post by **Goofproof** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 3:48 pm

What you are saying, you want to cut out the middle man, you are committing to fail even before you get any equiptment. Many come here in DeNile, but that's a new concept, prepare to fail without trying. What a shortcut. Jim

Janknitz · Post by **Janknitz** » Wed Apr 06, 2016 4:28 pm

Here's how to analyze this:
1. Contact your insurance company. You need to know from them whether they will buy outright, rent to own (if so, how long a rental period) or rent forever.
2. Ask your insurance company what to expect your out of pocket costs to be (deductibles and co-pays):
a. If you haven't met your deductible, you have to pay your deductible and THEN WHAT? Will you own it outright, will the insurance then cover some of the monthly rental until the next year when you hit your deductible again?
b. You need to know if you can get it at the insurance contracted price (rental or purchase)? If so, what is the amount the insurance "allows" for it. Then you can calculate when you will meet your deductible, if you will still have co-payments after the deductible is met, if you will hit another deductible next year before it's completely paid. Then you can calculate your out of pocket costs and compare them to buying your own machine online.

Here's why this is important. My insurance company buys the machine outright (unusual, most insurers require a rent to own period). They pay 80%, I pay 20%. The DME priced my machine at $2300, but my insurance contracted price was only $925. My out of pocket cost was only $185. Now, if I hadn't met a deductible, I would have paid only $925, NOT $2300. That's pretty equivalent to what I could have bought the machine for online from our hosts (including hose, filter, integrated humidifier). But because I had no deductible, it was an especially good deal.

This analysis is crucial to deciding if you want to rent or buy and also to deciding if you want to go through the DME or look around online for a reputable dealer like our hosts or secondwind.com

Rickey · Post by **Rickey** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 6:19 am

Wulfman... wrote:
Rickey wrote:Hi. I'm new to sleep apnea. I'm about to talk to the people ,who will supply my machine. Any info on rent or buy ,or other things to ask them. I have a 70/3O ,high deductible(1500) insurance plan. Thanks...
Here's another one you need to read.

https://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/what- ... me-part-i/

Have you met your deductible yet? If not, you may be money ahead to buy something out-of-pocket. Too often the prices are seriously inflated.
Also, is the DME (equipment supplier) owned by the doctor or place who did your sleep study?
( You DID have a sleep study, didn't you? )

Den, I haven't met my deductible. I did have the sleep study. I have about 600 left on my deductible. Thanks

.

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 1:00 pm

Rickey wrote:
Wulfman... wrote:
Rickey wrote:Hi. I'm new to sleep apnea. I'm about to talk to the people ,who will supply my machine. Any info on rent or buy ,or other things to ask them. I have a 70/3O ,high deductible(1500) insurance plan. Thanks...
Here's another one you need to read.

https://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/what- ... me-part-i/

Have you met your deductible yet? If not, you may be money ahead to buy something out-of-pocket. Too often the prices are seriously inflated.
Also, is the DME (equipment supplier) owned by the doctor or place who did your sleep study?
( You DID have a sleep study, didn't you? )

Den, I haven't met my deductible. I did have the sleep study. I have about 600 left on my deductible. Thanks

.

Then you really need to "do the math". You can buy a decent, data-capable machine for about that amount (or even less), but what they bill your insurance for THEIR prices are going to be upwards of $2000 - $3000......then whatever your percentage of the remainder will come into play, etc., etc. (they will charge by individual components to increase the price, because they're allowed to)

Anyway, get all the facts and figures and crunch the numbers before you sign on the dotted line.

Check out (at least):
https://www.cpap.com
http://www.secondwindcpap.com

Den

.

chunkyfrog · Post by **chunkyfrog** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 1:11 pm

I was given the choice of an OLD machine as a rental or purchasing a new one outright.
My sleep studies took care of the deductible, so I COMMITTED myself to cpap.
Yes, I know, here come the smart remarks . . .

Holden4th · Post by **Holden4th** » Thu Apr 07, 2016 6:44 pm

When I was diagnosed I decided to rent first. My reasons are the same as yours.

Will I like it?

Can I actually use it?

What is the best machine for me?

I'm glad I did this as I've already saved myself some money.

I decided on the F&P Icon as my machine and the rental company duly supplied it. I struggled to get the machine to work for me (for all sorts of reasons). I've since changed to a Resmed S9 auto sense and nearly all of those issues are gone and i regularly get AHIs of less than 5. If I had purchased the Icon outright I would have had a machine that didn't work properly for me and therefore be seriously out of pocket. The beauty of renting means that i can change machines without any financial penalty. I also now know that I can handle xPAP therapy.

When my rental period expires in June I can now confidently buy the Resmed A10 knowing that it will work.

So my advice is try the rental option (not rent to buy) first. I believe that US rental companies will also let you change masks.

Machine	Mask	Humidifier

Additional Comments: Pressures 5/15

Machine	Mask	Humidifier

Additional Comments: Pressures 5/15

Machine	Mask	Humidifier

Additional Comments: Pressures 5/15

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