Think I got snookered !

I am feeling so very stupid! Since I have not gotten anything as far as billing or insurance statements yet regarding the Cpap equipment, I decided to call the place I got this from and asked for the billing department to ask about this. My hubbie wanted to see what was going on with this so I asked if I could have an itemized statement showing everything to date thus far including the insurance billing. She was very snippy and said this was all discussed with me prior. I told her I had indeed gotten a phone call from them last month explaining how much I needed to pay when I picked up the equipment and had been asked for a credit card number which I gave to them as she said they would need this to bill every month for the co-pays. Now me being all new to this thought this must be how it works. However I have never gotten any written statement or breakdown and I need this for my records.
She said she did not know where to get these figures for me and would have to check and get back to me to see if this was possible. I was shocked to say the least but said please call me back as soon as possible. I waited and waited and she never called so I recalled the place and asked for the patient rep and tried to find out what the problem could be. This person did not know either, so then I blew a gasket as I just realized how I have been taken in and told her I would be sending the equipment back today. My husband delivered it within the hour and I took the little card thing out of the back before I sent it - oh how I wanted to drive my car over that thing and send it back it pieces but I controlled myself - GRRRRR......

and so, what are you going to do about treatment?

You did not mention how much time has elapsed from pick up to drop off.
This looks like a real pickle.

Medical billing is a huge morass, so it's understandable that the person you spoke to didn't know, ESPECIALLY if it was one of the bigger DME's like Crapria where billing is done from a central location and the local people known nothing about that part of the business.

Nevertheless, there was NO call for her rudeness and failure to find out for you. That's just lousy customer service.

However, have you "cut off your nose to spite your face"? You NEED to have this treatment, and you may now have kiboshed your insurance coverage for it (particularly if you're several months in) unless and until you can find another vendor to work with. Or you are willing to go back to this DME with your tail between your legs and see if you can get everything back?

If you can afford it, you might consider going online and ordering your own machine. You can get whatever you want, pay for it out of pocket, and should get great customer service from an online provider who is smart enough to consider YOU to be the customer, NOT the insurance company. But it will cost you possibly more than your out of pocket outlay was going to be with the local DME If you go this route, pony up for overnight shipping--you don't want to be without CPAP for too long or you are going to have to start over getting used to it.

We love to hate our DME's but part of the reason is that we are so darn dependent on them and they treat us like dirt.

I really do not know what I am going to do yet....but I do know I do not want to be treated like that! (or dirt )
Will have to sleep on it I guess - oops - or not!!

You're cutting off your nose (no pun intended ) to spite the face of some dingbat clerk somewhere... doesn't make a lot of sense to me and I hope you rethink it.

when my dme double charged for my apap I made arrangements to take it back, but they said they wanted a letter from the doctor!

I said, no, Im bringing it back NOW, and Im sticking on your counter, and thats the end of that.. I refuse to pay the outrageous prices you
are charging me!

my dme was so crooked, that they would never allow you to speak to billing for at least forty eight hours or more so if you called to return
a machine or mask right before the thirty days was up, so they could charge you for it! creeps!

geez, I hated them! still hate them!


so, I know how you feel, and it doesnt help to be treated like crap when you are trying to figure out this equipment either..

so take a breath, get settled... start over, find out what you need, and the best place to get it from, and get what you can afford and
you be in control of everything.. if you can.. stay away from the crooks

Im really sorry you got the run around, this therapy isnt easy and to be treated like that.. ugh!!!

chunkyfrog wrote:You did not mention how much time has elapsed from pick up to drop off.
This looks like a real pickle.

I first picked up the equipment on Oct. 4, 2010 - today is Nov. 3, 2010

I am not sure how this works exactly and there are two insurances involved.
But I now am very positive that they are not looking out for my best interest - that is pretty obvious. In addition - they know just how to work you over in this case. I am almost 60 years old. Sad to say that I worked in healthcare for many years - things sure are not like we were taught! These young people - forget it - the almighty dollar always comes first! Its disgusting!

Hi - you shouldn't be bullied, but the treatment is necessary.

BTW, for us here in Australia if you get insurance to pay for your machines you're lucky, since here (unless it's with specialised medical insurance like the military) you have to pay for your CPAP/APAP machines. And an APAP machine here with humidifier, like the S9, will set you back nearly $2000 AUD (which is almost $2000 USD, with the market fluctuations). Compare cpap.com to cpapaustralia.com.au...

Anyway - I'm hoping you can come to a solution that brings about a good treatment and retains customer dignity.

I'm sorry to hear these tales of billing woe.

I'm in the UK, but have lived and worked in the US, (and designed medical billing software) so I know how draconian these things are. I guess the upside is quick service. Here in the UK I went through the National Health route and it was about three months from referral by my doctor to getting my hands on a CPAP machine. However the only out of pocket expenses were the parking charges when I visited the hospital.

The downside is lack of choice; I'm not really happy with the masks available (although I'm pretty new to this) so suspect I'll have to pay full retail for one.

Now that I'm on CPAP I would pay whatever it cost to keep it; the change in my quality of life, even after only a week is, literally, an eye opener!

I Think it is written somewhere (depending where you live). hhhmmmmm let me see, oh yes, the bill of rights. You have the right to access all of your medical information, the right to choose among providers, the right to see your bill no matter who pays the bill and know what the charges are. But in all fairness, it only has been a month and maybe that have not sent out their statements yet. I know it takes awhile to get statements out. Too bad she was so rude to you. I hope that you can find another DME or go online to get another machine and equiptment soon. You might want to check your credit card statement to see what if any charges are from the DME and make sure they don't keep billing your card.

rosie

rosiefrosie wrote:You might want to check your credit card statement to see what if any charges are from the DME and make sure they don't keep billing your card.

rosie

Thank you so much Rosie. Your advice was SO right on - I guess I am just way too naive! I just checked my credit card statement and I could hardly believe my eyes. They double billed me in Oct - billing the card just 2 days after I had given them the check for the exact same amount - which is how they had asked me to pay the initial payment. I am so livid. I just got off the phone with the credit card company to have that account closed so they cannot use it again which of course only makes a lot more inconvenience for me to have to change my cards online with other vendors now - grrr....
Then I called the DME place and told them I wanted this credited and they said there was no double charge. I said look again! Oh my - we did finally find an "honest mistake"....right!
I am so glad to be done with these people and have my life back with no machines in my house. I feel like I need a vacation! But at least I slept better last night not being encased in plastic with air up my nose and strange noises in my room!
Thanks everyone for being so nice to me here - this has been a very unpleasant and disappointing experience but I will survive!

The machine is not your enemy.........the dme that treated you so poorly is the enemy. Don't stop treatment because you need a new provider.......it will only harm you. Returning the machine does not eliminate OSA. Treatment makes you feel so much better, and extends your life once you make friends with it. This forum is all about helping people.........you won't find encouragement here to quit!

adksleepygal, the way it worked for me has been that DME's file the claim with the insurance company. Insurance paid the DME the agreed upon rate for my policy and I paid a percentabe. My payment was also subject to a deductible.

Insurance coverages are different so one needs to find out what coverages they have with their insurance provider. However, what you likely will need from the DME is the code numbers that the intend on filing when they submit the claim. You mentioned that you have 2 insurance companies. One will probably be the primary. This is the one to start with. I'd suggest give them a call first to find our your coverages. If they tell you need code numbers then you can get those from the DME. Some insurance companies require a rental period. Mine did not. However, it sounds like yours falls into this category. try to find out if you have more than one options when you discuss your coverages with your insurance provider. Some options might be better but not their standard approach.

Most insurance companies allow for pre-authorizations. This will allow you or your DME to submit a request to the insurance provider to spell out exactly what your costs will be. This can be very helpful, particularly if the amount you will pay winds up being greater than the amount of an on-your-own internet purchase.

Be aware, the person that answers the phone for the inusurance company may not be aware of the options. If something sounds incorrect or incomplete then either ask for a supervisor, or call back in hopes that you get a more informed representative, or both.

rosiefrosie wrote:I Think it is written somewhere (depending where you live). hhhmmmmm let me see, oh yes, the bill of rights.

Yes, it is written somewhere, but not the Bill of Rights. It's HIPAA. The DME will (or SHOULD) know about it.