Problems with Lincare in Tyler, TX

I got my CPAP from the Lincare on Front Street in Tyler, TX.

A gentleman brought the CPAP machine out to my house and showed me how to use it. He had 2 sizes of a face mask. He put the one he thought would fit on and turned on the machine. Even though the machine was only set to the lower pressure ramp setting the mask could not be adjusted to stop a loud vibrating leak. He tried the second mask on me, same thing. He said those were the only two masks authorized by my Doctor and asked me to try it for a couple of weeks saying he would try to get my Doctor to let me get a different mask if it did not work out.

After a couple of hellish weeks I called to tell them I needed another mask. Not only did that one leak it caused me to get a rash and made my face and neck very sore. The only way I could get it to work at all was to lie face down and pack pillows around it.

He brought out a different type of mask. He tried to collect money from me for the mask. I explained to him that I was insured through medicare and champva and I should not have to pay anything. I can best describe his attitude as aggressive, intimidating, threatening, and manipulative. Only when I told him to just take the CPAP and go did he agree not to charge me, saying he could charge the company he got the original mask from for a replacement, as if he were doing me a favor.

The second mask also leaked even on the lower ramp setting. The representative started talking about a nose mask, saying it would not work with my high setting, and threatening me that if I could not make the second mask work he would call the Doctor and tell him to give me the nose mask next time. He also suggested that I should spend my life sleeping on my face with pillows packed around my mask if that was the only way I could get it to work, even though I told him it was very painful. After an emotionally draining exchange I agreed to give the second mask a try for a couple of weeks.

After about a week I called to tell them that I could not make this mask work either. The muscles in my face would relax when I fell asleep and as soon as they relaxed the mask would start making a very loud vibrating sound that would wake me up. I was exhausted and my face and neck were sore from trying to tighten the mask. I was also developing a sore on my nose where the mask hit it.

The Lincare representative brought out a third mask, this one a full face mask. Again he tried to get me to pay for it. We basically repeated the same conversation as the last time with him threatening me with the nose mask and trying to intimidate me into giving them money even though I had full insurance coverage, this time driving me to tears before I told him to just take the whole machine back, at which time he again left the mask for a trial period. He told me that if I could not make this mask work I would definitely have to pay for the next mask.

After he left I read the instructions that came with the mask. It said not to use this type of mask if you have dry eyes, which I do. I tried it for a couple of days anyway, and although it was better then the other two masks in many ways, it irritated my eyes so much I could not wear it.

At this point I called medicare to check out the Lincare representative's claims that medicare would require me to pay for any other face masks in cash. Medicare responded that Lincare was contractually obligated to replace any medical device which did not fit or did not work to my satisfaction at no charge to me or to medicare. The lady I talked to at Medicare asked me to try to work with Lincare some more and see if I couldn't get them to make it right.

I called Lincare and asked if I could have a different mask and representative. After much arguing with the manager (who basically said the same things the representative had, and took a similar attitude), and getting my doctor to send Lincare a letter stating he would ok any mask that met with my satisfaction, Lincare finally agreed that I could come into their office and try on several masks to find one that worked better at no charge.

Unfortunately I had some health problems that prevented me from going in for over a month. During that time I tried using the second mask with the strap that came with the third mask, and found it fit much better that way, but still had a lot of problems.

When I arrived at the Lincare office I was greeted by a new representative who then told me that my Doctor had instructed her to only try the nose mask on me. I told her that couldn't be right since the other representative from her company used to regularly threaten me with it, and when I had asked my Doctor about it he had also told me I should not use the nose mask at my pressure level. I also told her that my Doctor had told me they sent them a letter saying the Doctor would approve any mask that met my satisfaction. She looked me straight in the eye and said that might have been true a month ago but just yesterday the Doctor sent this order (holding up a piece of paper) to only try the nose mask on you today. After arguing with her briefly she left the room. When she left I picked up the piece of paper she had held up and read it. It was word for word the letter the Doctors office had told me they were sending them authorizing any mask I liked.

The manager then came in and told me they had orders from my Doctor to only try the nose mask on me and there was nothing they could do about it. I asked her if any of them understood English as I picked up the Doctors orders and read them out loud. The manager grabbed the paper from my hand and started screaming at me at the top of her lungs. After several minutes of the manager screaming and arguing with me, until I broke down in tears, she just turned around and left.

When the other lady representative came back she claimed to have misread the Doctor's orders and agreed to let me try on several masks to see if any fit better then what I had. After that she was just as sweet as pie, very helpful, and professional. If I did not know that just a few minutes ago she had looked me straight in the eye and lied to me I would have liked her a lot.

After this experience I felt it was my civic duty to try and warn others about Lincare. It is obvious to me that they do not care about anything but profits. They do not understand the meaning of the words integrity, honesty, or service. They are bullies, liars, and cheats.

Honey, you have Medicare--you can use any provider you want. RUN, don't walk to another DME and never darken Lincare's door again. If you can talk a new provider into replacing your machine (this might not be possible because Lincare has already gotten a few months of the rental profit) then you can cut your ties with Lincare altogether. Talk to other DME's and find one that you are comfortable with. Try to avoid the big companies like Lincare and Apria--find a locally owned and operated one if necessary. Even if you have to drive all the way to Dallas to find a decent DME, do it!

This treatment is shameful! I suggest you contact the regional or even national office and tell them exactly what you told us. AND your doctor. He should think twice before referring anybody else to them.

Linecare has come up before...write to this guy...

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=51642&p=475969&hili ... re#p475969

If you have to go back there, I would suggest that you find a local football player. Say about 6' and 200+ pounds. Ask him if he would like to earn a quick $10.

Introduce him as your friend Vinny, and he gets upset when you cry...

OK, back to the real world...

Hire another supplier to work with.

Following up on what Janknitz suggests, you should send a written formal letter of complaint about the treatment you've received from Lincare to:

Lincare's main headquarters
Medicare
Your doctor's office
Your local Better Business Bureau

The same letter should be sent to all four places and you can let all four place know it's been sent everywhere.

You might also want to shorten your original post and send it as a letter to the editor to the local Dallas area newspaper. If any of the local TV stations have consumer protection beats (there's one here in Buffalo that solicits stories such as this and investigates them and publicizes and shames the responsible parties into at least temporarily reforming their ways) you might want to send a letter their way too.

The kind of treatment you received is scandalous and the local branch should not get away with it.

Had Lincare in Albany Oregon with same problem. Only there 1 day a week for 5 hours if that. New tech about every four weeks. Switched to a new DME this week. Hopefully I can get with them and get some issues resolved.

Not a fan of Lincare, I had to fight with my DME and got a detailed prescription to get the proper equipment. Also let them know that a local DME could get what I needed if they could not. Would not have chosen them if I had know there were more choices locally. I'm only a month in, now I'm waiting on a new machine and mask. I have bent over backwards to work with them but I wasn't going to back down,

They know the drill, you shouldn't been treated like that. They should be ashamed of themselves!

Being new I was nieve, if I knew what I now know things would have gone differently.

Looks like it's all about the money.

Good luck, I' will be on my third mask (Quattro FX) when it comes in. Hope it will work for me.

I had problems with Lincare as well I had requested the Respironics Performance hose for over 9 months and was finally told Medicare would not pay for it 'I went to a clinic and found out from other providers this was not so it was an item I was allowed,when I approached them with this info they struggled with excuses and finally stated they would order. After 2 weeks they called to inform me it was on backorder from the company guess what I called the company and found out it never was on back order or ordered. I am now happy with another provider and my hubby gets his oxygen supplies from my new provider . Moral they tried to save on a cheap hose and hossed themselves

Huh, I must be the oddball. I've had excellent service from the folks at the Lincare office in Cathedral City, CA. I've gone through NUMEROUS masks with them - nasal pillows, full face, nasal masks, etc - I've even had them send mail me masks they don't normally keep in stock at the office. I've never once been asked to show them the money. I return the old one, they do some credit paperwork, then on to the next mask.

That said, go try another DME. I didn't like the first one I went to, thats how I ended up at Lincare.

I am extremely surprised by the situation that tylerlady has described. I have used other providers that I have used for my cpap before and one of them even tried to mail me my new cpap with instructions and not send anyone to help me with it. I have also had the smaller local companies that someone recommended earlier in this post and my experiences were not anything that I would care to mention.

When I need supplies or anything from the lincare in Tyler they always offer to have a therapist deliver what I need, have it shipped to me, or have it ready for me if I need to come by there and pick them up. I have seen both of their therapist and I have been treated with nothing but respect and kindness. I promise you that if you think its automatically going to be better with one of the other companies (big or small), don't be surprised if its not. I have medicare also and I know that when I had to try a couple of different mask to get the right fit, they can't re-use the masks that I tried to use and I doubt that the manufacturers can stay in business by handing out free supplies all day everyday.

My medicare pays for certain supplies monthly, every 3 months, and every 6 months. I know this because they provided me with a sheet that shows me when I can get what. The therapist that have been referred to did let me know that it is important to address any mask problems and or changes during the first 30 days and did work with me without the use of threats or anything else that had been described. I found them to be quite the opposite of what has been claimed here.

Being older and having more time on this earth I have also come to realize that some people are just hard to please. I have had problems with my mask leaking at times and no matter who they sent to my house, I was very happy with the care I received from them and at no time have I ever been threatened or treated badly at all. I would recommend lincare to anyone I know. I am very pleased with both of the lincare representatives that have come to my home and I can honestly say that I have been treated better with them than I have with any of the other providers I have had in the past.

Just as you felt it was your civic duty to give your opinion of lincare, I feel it is mine also to tell everybody here that I really like using lincare and have never had any experiences like they described. And just remember, you can use whomever you like for your cpap service. Maybe you should try another company if your so unhappy. I don't mean to come off the wrong way, but if I was so unhappy with a company I would use someone else.

Hmmmm. TylerLady is a registered member and has ID'd herself when writing about her problems w/Lincare in Tyler, TX.

EPark is a registered member and has ID'd him/her/self when commenting on his/her experience w/Lincare in Albany, OR.

I'mSleepyNoMore is a registered member and has ID'd him/her/self when commenting on his/her experience w/Lincare in his/her area.

DaveCPAP has had excellent service from his local CPAP office. Dave is also a member and ID'd himself.

JanKnitz, LSat, RobySue, GM60 and HoseCrusher are registered members and ID'd themselves when commenting.

And then along comes Guest, unregistered, not willing to ID him/her/self touting what good service he/she has gotten from Lincare in Tyler, TX.

Who do YOU believe?

We all know that even Crapria has some good offices. It stands to reason that Lincare would have some good offices too. Anonymous posts don't carry all that much weight. My guess is Guest has done Lincare of Tyler, TX more harm than good by posting anonymously.

Just goes to show same company different area better service, lucky for me there are several providers in my area and changing from Lincare last year was a good move for me and my hubby.I have had great service better equipment and professional help.

If guest is legit (the "some people are just hard to please" comment makes me wonder), perhaps guest is male. Females are often treated more poorly in such situations, even by other females.

I know how you feel about Lincare. My DME when I had insurance before I lost my job because of them, was APRIA. I got two of the M-series machines, they weren't recording hours or even weeks at a time! Finally after threatening to call my insurance company and my friend who was driving truck with me at the time willing to take a lie detector test to show that I was using the machine, they finally switched it out.

When I went in for a download of the new machine, they erased the card and reset my machine so I had NO data to give the state as per law. As a result, my home state suspended my CDL and I lost my job... I hope none of you ever have to go through what I went thru... My Dr. said to bring him the machine next time and he'll make sure it's downloaded right instead of trusting Apria to do it.... I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one who's been screwed over by a DME. I think we can all agree... IF Their customer service sucks in person, then it stands to reason so will their service over all. Well at least in my opinion anyway...