DME Success Story

I have seen a few of these, but I have another DME success story. After my wife received a brick of a machine, F&P NOVO from Linn Care and a Swift FX for Her fit pack with Linn Care taking the other size pillows and told her - "You don't need those and can't have them!" We worked with her doc, insurance Company and my DME - Homereach to get her moved there.

Now she has a brand new Respironics S1 Pro with C-Flex+, the gave her the missing pillows for her Swift FX for Her that Linn Care provided and gave her a Mirrage FX for Her nasal mask so she could see which one she like better.

After some initial problems I had with Homereach - I learned the navigation process and how to get back to the right people, they have been great and addresed all of our needs. For someone who works in the service industry, good customer service, no matter who is paying the bill is important.

Our last task is to get the 02 concentrator moved over there, but her pulmonologist, wants to do several nights of a pulse ox on her with the CPAP with 02 and off 02 to see if she really needs it now. I hope that can go away as it is quite noisy - so much so my daughter nick named it "Darth Stewie" Sounds like Darth Vader but short like Stewie in Family Guy

It's good to read that some DME experiences can be successfully negotiated. I'm still in the middle of mine and hope that my outcome is satisfactory if not pleasant. I hate confrontation but since I am the "boss" and they are my "employee" I get the final say, right? I'm glad you got what you wanted and I hope the need for O2 disappears with your new machine! Good Luck!

Having the worked in the medical field, and my wife having been a office manager for a large practice, we are pretty good at navigating the minefield. We made sure that we had the doctor and the insurance company in our corner first before we made any move with the DME.

We are much happier with the current equipment and are waiting for Linn Care to come pick up the "Brick". I am not going to expend any gas or effort to return it to them.

Congrats on your success with DME and doc and best wishes for good health.

Dave, way to go! This is what I love to hear. And you absolutely know the key: "We made sure that we had the doctor and the insurance company in our corner first before we made any move with the DME." THAT is how you do it.

Technomom said:
"I hate confrontation but since I am the "boss" and they are my "employee" I get the final say, right?"

That's how it SHOULD be, but it's not reality. The DME doesn't see you as the "boss" at all. The "bosses" they recognize are the insurance company (because that's who pays) and the doctor (because that's where their referrals come from). You, my friend, are on the bottom of the pile. What you want, think, or need doesn't matter, because you aren't paying and you aren't referring. And in some cases, you're a captive audience (because they are your insurer's preferred provider), so they don't even worry that you will walk away if they treat you like dirt.

Like Dave above, you can turn that situation around IF you know what your insurance will cover and how, and you have your doctor on board to write the prescription for what you want. If you have all those ducks in a row first, you walk in to the DME without the "sucker" sign over your head, and you can make sure that they understand that it's in their best interest to do what they should be doing.