Purchase vs rental

Which is best.... purchase vs. rental?

I assume no insurance or you wouldn't have options.

I would purchase a machine from cpap.com if I didn't have insurance. If you decide to do that, be sure to do your research. There is lots of info on this site about what most of us want on our machines. One of the most important features to look for is data, usually both on the screen and downloadable. This helps to monitor progress. Some machines say they are data capable, but all they have is compliance data, i.e. how many nights/hours used. Most people use a humidifier. A package price is usually available. You can search this site and find lots of information on what people want in their machines. Good Luck.

it all depends on your insurance or you plans for payment. For me purchase was better financially because I had met my $3300k deductible and my portion was the 20% plus I had secondary insurance.

If I had gone rental. I would have been good until the start of the year. Then the deductibles reset and would have been paying 100% for most of the year.

I started on CPAP in November...so you can see I would have had only two months of rentals then everything would have reset.

As it is...I changed insurance to a totally different plan for this year. So far I am good. But I am watching to see how the billing is going to go...then I will probably buy my supplies...cause CIGNA only allows for one nasal pillow a month.

If you have NO insurance, your best bet is to purchase a machine outright from an online supplier. But if you do have insurance, you absolutely MUST know what your insurance offers (rental vs. purchase) on this matter. Do NOT take your DME's word for whether or not your insurance will rent or purchase the machine--they are often wrong and it could cost you a lot of money.

Traditional Medicare (parts A and B) ALWAYS requires that the machine be a "capped rental"--they pay 80% of the Medicare allowable rate for mothly rental for 13 months, then the machine is YOURS to keep. Many other insurers follow what Medicare does, but YOUR insurance may be different, so you must call and ask.

You may or may not have any choice. If you do, here are the things you need to consider:

1. Your deductible and co-pay for a monthly rental.
2. How long the rental period will last before the machine belongs to you (if ever). Remember to note when the new year turns over (calander or fiscal?) so that you can calculate how many deductibles you are going to have to pay during the rental period.
3. If it's a purchase, how are your deductible and co-pay applied to the purchase price?

When you know what your out of pocket costs will be, check that against the online price of an out of pocket purchase to see which works best for your finances.

If you DO have insurance, do not automatically think that the lower online prices may be best for you.

Remember that if you go through your insurance, any out of pocket costs to you will go towards your deductible and that would be more beneficial to you if you meet your deductible during the current year.

Further, check with your insurance plan first, but some insurances will not pay for continuing consumable supplies for a machine they did not purchase. So those continuing expenses would have to paid 100% by you out of pocket.

So, what might look cheaper today may not be cheaper for you in the long-term.

I guess I am lucky. I started CPAP in November. My DME bills my insurance (BCBS of Illinois) every month. BCBS is showing a "rental" for the first 90 days and once they check my compliancy, it be comes a purchase for me. Luckly, my DME bills it like a doctors office visit each month and it costs me a $40 co-pay. After the 90 days when it becomes a purchase, my DME says it will bill the insurance the same way and my insurance has told me that I will pay a final $40 co-pay and I am done!! None of this goes towards a deductable. So its basically gonna cost me under $200 for my CPAP unit The only drawback to this way the DME bills is when I get replacement equipment it will be a $40 co-pay each time. So I think I am best buying the occassional replacement cushion, hose or chinstrap via E-Bay. Entire replacement masks would be worth the co-pay though

I have a PPO plan by BCBS through a large employer.

I am only on my 2nd machine but they NEVER required a rental. Both were purchased outright with no compliance requirements.

Bought the 1st machine 12 years age & the 2nd machine 7 years ago. Will purchase the 3rd machine approx May 2011.