doctor visit

Maybe you can make something of this. I have a follow up doctor visit scheduled for next week. It will be a month since my second titration. I called this morning to cancel it because I don't feel as if I have been on the CPAP long enough to answer any questions about feelings, etc. Some nights I have kept it on for 4 hours, some nights 6. I was sick right after my second titration and couldn't wear it long at a time because I was stopped up and couldn't breathe with it on. I was going to reschedule the visit in about three weeks to give me more time. The receptionist said that I would have to go every month for follow up visits for my insurance to pay. Have any of you heard this? I am going to call my insurance company. I think going every month to a nurse practitioner is ridiculous. I would think if I am feeling okay and doing better that that is too often. It surely will be a waste of my time. I asked the receptionsist what would the NP do and she said just ask you some questions. I have not been told to take my machine or anything for them to check it.

The only thing my insurance company required was a phone call from the DME by their VRU to see if I still had the machine. When I push 3 to say I still have the machine, that's it.

You need to ask insurance company what it requires. Mine doesn't require any compliance data. I struggled with masks issues with my DME, who acted like they would only give me masks once every six months. I called insurance company and they said, "no, I could get a mask if the one I had wasn't working" The first two masks, the DME made me return the ones I couldn't get to work, after conversation with insurance company I realized that the insurance company had paid for those masks, and my new ones.
The last time I started having problems, I took my machine into DME because they told me they could download data(there was a charge to insurance company for this service) to see what was happening in my therapy. No, machine just listed compliance data. The woman at DME then told me the insurance company would take back my machine because I wasn't compliant. I later found out and this point the insurance company had paid for machine and it was now mine. I could go on, but the bottom line is talk to insurance company and see what you are covered for.

hose head wrote:the bottom line is talk to insurance company and see what you are covered for.

Yes, you need to talk to the insurance company yourself to find out what they require.

I would take your data to teh doctor and have him review it. I never had a 2nd test when I got the CPAP. The doctor felt that I would do just fine because I was also loosing weight and did not feel that he would get anything from it. I found that I took my mask off a lot. SO when I did go back and talk to him he suggested that I get a dental device. The rest is history. The dental device does work and inSept. I was told because of my wieght loss and the effectiveness of the dental device I did not need to use the CPAP machine and if I did not need to use the dental device. However I still use both not as much as I used to.

Chris