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I've been on CPAP therapy for 10 1/2 years.

I wish I could say I have had a "good" experience with a DME supplier... but I can't.

I can't even say it's been acceptable, let alone good.

I have never seen a Respiratory Therapist, never had a phone call from one, never had any instructions on how to use and clean my machine.

Never been asked by the DME how things are going... no personal involvement whatsoever.

I have had incessant phone calls from them to try to sell me supplies I don't need/want. They do send me equipment and supplies I never ordered, and they do overcharge my insurance company for everything.

It's just a miserable experience when dealing with them. They are unresponsive, uncaring, lying, greedy little weasels.

I have read a very, very few "good" comments from people who seem to have gotten just the right person at just the right time to make them happy.

But the good vs terrible ratio is WAY out of whack.

Do I sound bitter? Ya.. .darn right I am.

pratzert wrote:I wish I could say I have had a "good" experience with a DME supplier... but I can't.

I can't even say it's been acceptable, let alone good.

Could it be that DME's make very little from insurance?

QUOTE: Could it be that DME's make very little from insurance?[/quote]

No, it can't be.

They charged my Insurance company over $1200 for the machine I could buy for $700.

Not to mention the exaggerated price for supplies.

Take look at your EOB's from your insurance company and see what the DME supplier is charging for those items, and compare those prices to what you can buy them for on your own. You will be shocked and disgusted. I know that companies are in business to make money, but when they make so much money and provide such poor service, it's a problem.

If they aren't making a ton of money from the prices they charge insurance companies, perhaps they are handling their business very, very incompetently.

I'm wondering what the point of this thread is? Most of us have a crappy DME. I'm happy for those who have stumbled on to a good one.... so... again.... what's the point.
Sheriff

Kind of reminds me of my kidney doctor. Because I'm stage 3 CKD they were suppost to have a nutritionist contact me and work to help. Never got a phone call and the doc didn't even care. But I'm sure some doctors are better then the one I had. Same with DME, I'm sure there has to be a few good ones out there. Funny thing the first one I saw I was sent there by a friend who knew the owner and told me they would take care of me. Still didn't happen

So far my new DME is treating me fine. I don't have a good sleep Dr. the fellow I go
to is just a pulmonologist. When I asked his ofice staff about seeing if I could have a
new machine as mine was acting up and was 10 years old they said I would have to
come back in and talk to the Dr. ( I had been in 4 weeks earlier ) then he would send
me for another sleep study. Well a day or so after that I called my DME about changing
mask and after that went so well I mentioned a new machine and what my Dr's office
had told me. Well they called his office and straightened him out that because I had
had regular contact with him these past 10 years and seen him recently a new study was
not needed. So 2 weeks later I picked up my new cpap and because the perscription
just called for a cpap set to 14 I expected a piece of junk. But they gave me a DreamStation
Auto , humidifier and heated hose. True because of my prescription they had to set it
to cpap mode but I sinned and changed it to apap .

I know how to solve your problems with DME's. I had a severe bike wreck, was in ER for a day, frontal lobe bleeding, etc. It almost took me out of here. (I missed a concrete buffer by a foot). Anyway, when my sleep doc read the report, he became more cooperative than ever before. He asked me a lot of questions about my brain, and, long story short, when I asked for a new machine, he immediately prescribed one (the Dream Station auto bipap). I had asked for one about 3 years ago, and he wasn't cooperative at all. Now his attitude changed.

I think he thought of me as someone who almost left this planet. It seems as if now I can get anything I want.

By the way, I have an excellent DME service in Roanoke, Va. They are terrific. My tech man, a college grad in his field, knows all about the machine and settings. I've been averaging 1.1 for my AHI for the last month, since I got it.

So to answer the Sheriff, the point is: We live in a free country. Keep changing DME's until you find a good one. I started out with Apria, but that didn't work.
Just like with doctors, I've had 3 sleep docs. I kept changing until I found one I could work with, but having a bike wreck that almost killed me is the best thing that has helped my apnea! However, I don't really recommend it.

Yeah, my point in starting the thread was to highlight a specific good DME. And today, they did it again.

I called up because the F20 that they gave me was hurting my nose, but overall I liked it. I had read about the Gecko nasal pads and was wondering if they had them. They were like "we do, and we'll sell them to you if you really want them. But they're not covered by insurance, and they're quite expensive [NOTE: I asked for a quote, and "expensive" is about half the price our sponsor charges for them]. You're better off going to your local drugstore and getting moleskin pads. They'll do about the same thing"

So for the added labor of cutting the moleskin pads down to size, I'll probably get rid of that sensitivity, and save a ton of money on a gimicky product that can be replaced with a pair of scissors and $5 at the local drugstore. But we'll see.

I used moleskin for several months when I was using a different mask. If you try it and decide it works well for you, check on line for it. I used to purchase rolls of it on line. It is 2 inches wide and 5 yards long and runs about $10 a roll. The young lady I worked with when I first got my machine told me about it. She said her husband used it every night to keep his nose from getting sore. It worked well for me when I was using the other mask. Since my current mask does not go over my nose, I no longer need it.

Den -

Are you a self payer then without insurance?

This thread is good especially for newbies to know that many DME cannot be trusted. They are primarily salespeople now. My old DME was awesome. My therapist would bring machines and supplies to my house, try them on me there, make sure I was sleeping in the right position, dealt with problems quickly and efficiently and was truly a caring, encouraging person. But then they got bought out by Aerocare and everything changed. Patient care clearly was not the priority anymore. Money was. Changed everything. My beloved therapist left. No one would come to my home anymore. Only time they'd call is to tell me that my data, which they were getting by wifi, indicated that I wasn't compliant. Insurance wasn't going to pay them if I wasn't compliant so they began to hound me - not HELP me get compliant - just hound me. I finally had to threaten them with invasion of privacy and indicated that if they didn't stop calling me, I would call the police. Yes, this really happened. Last year. Finally, BCBS said that I wasn't "compliant enough" for them to pay. I had been compliant earlier in the year. But I failed the second test apparently when they monitored me for a 3-month period. These insurance companies seem to know just how to find you non-compliant so they won't have to pay. Terrible! The DME demanded that I pay the balance on the machine by the following day or they were coming to my house the next day to pick it up. I had been paying on it monthly for several months. Suddenly, they became extremely rude and demanding. Unbelievable that they would treat a struggling patient in that way. But they did and they got away with it. That industry doesn't seem to be very well regulated.

lwieland11 wrote:Patient care clearly was not the priority anymore. Money was. Changed everything.

cyndi lauper money changes everything find it on you tube.

lwieland11 wrote:The DME demanded that I pay the balance on the machine by the following day or they were coming to my house the next day to pick it up.

thats one way to get them to the house I guess

packitin wrote:So to answer the Sheriff, the point is: We live in a free country. Keep changing DME's until you find a good one. I started out with Apria, but that didn't work.
Just like with doctors, I've had 3 sleep docs.

I called my insurance and they gave me a list of alternative DME's. Most of the DME's on the list were out of business the rest (that answered the phone) don't take my insurance.

now, I need to overhaul my bike and run it into a concrete pillar' - with me on it....

Sheriff

Guest wrote:

LSAT wrote:When dealing with Medicare, DMEs make very little money.

Which means they should provide poor service?
Maybe they should go into another line of service if they are not happy with cpap supplies.

Who said they were unhappy.....as Trump would say..."FAKE NEWS".

LSAT wrote:

Guest wrote:

LSAT wrote:When dealing with Medicare, DMEs make very little money.

Which means they should provide poor service?
Maybe they should go into another line of service if they are not happy with cpap supplies.

Who said they were unhappy.....as Trump would say..."FAKE NEWS".

I think you misunderstood what was said again. I think what you quoted means for the DME's to get in a different service business if they

LSAT wrote:DMEs make very little money.

Instead you feel it's OK for them to provide poor service?