How much of a premium would you pay for a local DME?

snoregirl · Post by **snoregirl** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:57 pm

I do sympathize with the mask trial issue.

What I question is how does your doc know what mask to suggest unless he uses CPAP or has some for you to try? AND everyone's face is different.

I got very lucky and came home from my sleep study with a UMFF mask and a swift. Both worked for me. I prefer the swift now. I did have to do some work to get there though.

But consider what the DME is going to charge you for a mask and what you pay online. If your insurance is really good then fine, but if not, you can buy 2 or 3 masks for the price of one at a local DME and have your own trial.

Consider the local DME for the mask only. Heck, tell them you have a cpap from way back and your doc wrote you a new mask prescription, perhaps you are new in the area. Whatever. You are looking for new choices in masks.

ApNoob · Post by **ApNoob** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 11:49 pm

snoregirl wrote:But consider what the DME is going to charge you for a mask and what you pay online. If your insurance is really good then fine, but if not, you can buy 2 or 3 masks for the price of one at a local DME and have your own trial.

Consider the local DME for the mask only. Heck, tell them you have a cpap from way back and your doc wrote you a new mask prescription, perhaps you are new in the area. Whatever. You are looking for new choices in masks.

Ha, if only I hadn't already called them and told them my name! Perhaps they'll forget.

Of the two boutique DME's one is a CPAP user and the other has family who is...I'm thinking they have good service and they deserve some cash for it, I'm just not sure how much extra I'm willing to spend I'm a cash patient, after all

As to mask fit, I suspect the comfort gel and the activa are the doc's pet favs that he's had general success with. I don't think he actually just looked at me and literally "sized me up" for one--but I think he's trying to give me as much of a leg up as he can if I buy through the web rather than a local DME..

RosemaryB · Post by **RosemaryB** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:41 am

ApNoob wrote:
snoregirl wrote:But consider what the DME is going to charge you for a mask and what you pay online. If your insurance is really good then fine, but if not, you can buy 2 or 3 masks for the price of one at a local DME and have your own trial.

Consider the local DME for the mask only. Heck, tell them you have a cpap from way back and your doc wrote you a new mask prescription, perhaps you are new in the area. Whatever. You are looking for new choices in masks.
Ha, if only I hadn't already called them and told them my name! Perhaps they'll forget.

Of the two boutique DME's one is a CPAP user and the other has family who is...I'm thinking they have good service and they deserve some cash for it, I'm just not sure how much extra I'm willing to spend I'm a cash patient, after all

As to mask fit, I suspect the comfort gel and the activa are the doc's pet favs that he's had general success with. I don't think he actually just looked at me and literally "sized me up" for one--but I think he's trying to give me as much of a leg up as he can if I buy through the web rather than a local DME..

ApNoob · Post by **ApNoob** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:09 am

RosemaryB wrote:Another way to get a mask fitting is to find a local sleep lab that has mask fitting services. Usually this will be through a hospital sleep lab. After some extensive calling around, I located two hospitals within an hour and a half drive that had sleep labs and would fit you with a number of masks. One charged a small fee and the other was free. I went to the free, closer one. They had a mask fitting clinic once a week. The techs there were just excellent and very knowledgeable about the masks. They had quite a few. I went with a list of the ones I wanted to try and tried them all except for a couple that they didn't have. Based on this I ruled out a number of masks and found a couple that were ok.

It's strange that the two prestigious hospitals with sleep labs nearby didn't have any mask fitting services. The one that did was a small community hospital. They also had better techs from what I could tell. More service oriented.

One of those guys suggested that I have the doctor write a script for "the full kit" anytime I got a mask through my insurance. That way they have to give you all sizes of pillows or gaskets and you can find the best fit for you.

Thanks. That's something I wouldn't have thought of...