Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:18 am
Nothing wrong with being the anal geek type. A lot here are.
Guest seems to be a "take the machine and be happy you got it" approach.
I don't agree.
You have to figure out what you would gain from APAP and if it is worth it in either fight or out of pocket cost to get one.
I for one get lower pressure much of the night from APAP. My titrated pressure is 13 and I run at 10 much of the night. I can feel a HUGE difference in leaks at 10 vs. 13. To me this is VERY RELEVANT in my usage and compliance and ability to have treatment and not wake up (which would defeat the purpose of CPAP) with a leaky mask.
Other reasons are less pressure = less irritation to my ears which are stuffy from CPAP.
Positional sleeping changes pressure requirements -- sleeping on back vs. side...). Any questions about the accuracy of your sleep study would be addressed with APAP.
Ability of APAP to easily adjusting to changed requirements (possible weight loss, just plain changing anatomy and needs through aging) would be yet another reason for APAP. Just staying away from another sleep study could save you more than the cost of a APAP out of pocket in the future.
SO, that said. If you are fine with the Pro2 go ahead. BUT make sure you are not paying more than $700 copay or you could just as well buy APAP cash online. Or mid $500 for Pro2 or you might as well not have insurance.
As for a national company like Apria (I got mine from Apria), yes they are a national outfit, but they have local presence in towns across america, therefore they would in my opinion be considered a "local" DME" where you can try stuff on etc.
Before you think that I love Apria, don't. I dealt with them because my insurance was ok there and the price out of my pocket (copay) was ok ($280 for Remstar Auto) AND they gave me my APAP (with prescription from doc) after a series of phone conversations in which I repeatedly said "I want the APAP my doc prescribed for me". I was lucky to have a doc who wrote the script for APAP when I asked. Apria and any other local DME will probably not fill a CPAP prescription with APAP. But it is transparent to your insurance co. E0601 (CPAP or APAP).
On the issue of insurance company not paying for APAP. Somewhat true if your company told you that. Mine would not even apply the base $ to a "deluxe" unit. So essentially I could have base model or none. BUT when the paperwork for reimbursement from the DME went in, E0601, they paid it. No one there looked at the model or anything since if they had it said APAP and they should have denied it. They paid it.
No matter what you do, get that prescription and sleep study report in you files at home. If YOU CHOOSE to do APAP now or at a later time the prescription is good as written for CPAP online.
I am wary of docs who sell equipment or are associated with sleep labs. I think there is too much room for conflict of interest. I am also wary of docs who don't like patients discussing their care or asking for their paperwork. I will repeat my x-ray story again. I wanted my xrays for my leg from a hospital. The hospital staff told me I couldn't have them. I knew better. My sister is a hospital nurse, and told me it is common for them to say this since they don't want you to have them. She told me go in there and insist. I did and it didn't take much for them to cave when they realized I wasn't the average uninformed person with no guts who knew that those x-rays were MINE and I was entitled to a copy. Same here. You are entitled to a copy of your prescription to fill as you will. You let the doc know you want it and want it now, you will most likely get it. In addition this is a sleep doc. Do you think you will be seeing him/her on a regular basis now that the study is done? Do you care if he thinks you are pushy? I certainly wouldn't. With the kind of parental relationship you seem to have with this doc I would take my prescription (and maybe my machine if I was happy with CPAP and the price was right) and say goodbye.
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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, DME, Prescription, auto, APAP
_________________
CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, DME, Prescription, auto, APAP
_________________
CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, DME, Prescription, auto, APAP
Guest seems to be a "take the machine and be happy you got it" approach.
I don't agree.
You have to figure out what you would gain from APAP and if it is worth it in either fight or out of pocket cost to get one.
I for one get lower pressure much of the night from APAP. My titrated pressure is 13 and I run at 10 much of the night. I can feel a HUGE difference in leaks at 10 vs. 13. To me this is VERY RELEVANT in my usage and compliance and ability to have treatment and not wake up (which would defeat the purpose of CPAP) with a leaky mask.
Other reasons are less pressure = less irritation to my ears which are stuffy from CPAP.
Positional sleeping changes pressure requirements -- sleeping on back vs. side...). Any questions about the accuracy of your sleep study would be addressed with APAP.
Ability of APAP to easily adjusting to changed requirements (possible weight loss, just plain changing anatomy and needs through aging) would be yet another reason for APAP. Just staying away from another sleep study could save you more than the cost of a APAP out of pocket in the future.
SO, that said. If you are fine with the Pro2 go ahead. BUT make sure you are not paying more than $700 copay or you could just as well buy APAP cash online. Or mid $500 for Pro2 or you might as well not have insurance.
As for a national company like Apria (I got mine from Apria), yes they are a national outfit, but they have local presence in towns across america, therefore they would in my opinion be considered a "local" DME" where you can try stuff on etc.
Before you think that I love Apria, don't. I dealt with them because my insurance was ok there and the price out of my pocket (copay) was ok ($280 for Remstar Auto) AND they gave me my APAP (with prescription from doc) after a series of phone conversations in which I repeatedly said "I want the APAP my doc prescribed for me". I was lucky to have a doc who wrote the script for APAP when I asked. Apria and any other local DME will probably not fill a CPAP prescription with APAP. But it is transparent to your insurance co. E0601 (CPAP or APAP).
On the issue of insurance company not paying for APAP. Somewhat true if your company told you that. Mine would not even apply the base $ to a "deluxe" unit. So essentially I could have base model or none. BUT when the paperwork for reimbursement from the DME went in, E0601, they paid it. No one there looked at the model or anything since if they had it said APAP and they should have denied it. They paid it.
No matter what you do, get that prescription and sleep study report in you files at home. If YOU CHOOSE to do APAP now or at a later time the prescription is good as written for CPAP online.
I am wary of docs who sell equipment or are associated with sleep labs. I think there is too much room for conflict of interest. I am also wary of docs who don't like patients discussing their care or asking for their paperwork. I will repeat my x-ray story again. I wanted my xrays for my leg from a hospital. The hospital staff told me I couldn't have them. I knew better. My sister is a hospital nurse, and told me it is common for them to say this since they don't want you to have them. She told me go in there and insist. I did and it didn't take much for them to cave when they realized I wasn't the average uninformed person with no guts who knew that those x-rays were MINE and I was entitled to a copy. Same here. You are entitled to a copy of your prescription to fill as you will. You let the doc know you want it and want it now, you will most likely get it. In addition this is a sleep doc. Do you think you will be seeing him/her on a regular basis now that the study is done? Do you care if he thinks you are pushy? I certainly wouldn't. With the kind of parental relationship you seem to have with this doc I would take my prescription (and maybe my machine if I was happy with CPAP and the price was right) and say goodbye.
_________________
CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, DME, Prescription, auto, APAP
_________________
CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, DME, Prescription, auto, APAP
_________________
CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, DME, Prescription, auto, APAP