Questionable DME practices

Sorry , Toronto.
I keep forgetting how badly our friends from the North get 'hosed'.

Just looked back at my insurance claims versus what the insurance company paid. On the day that I got my CPAP, the DME billed $1700. The insurance company paid $800 to the DME.

So there you go, the DME's don't have it all their way *smile*. By the way, my health insurance plan is through my employer and is with UHC.

I'm about 6 weeks into the wonderful world of xPAP and haven't yet gotten a statement from my insurance company. However, the numbers from the DME are SHOCKING! e.g., Quattro full-face mask $435, "brick" type CPAP $280/month for 10 months = $2800, 6-foot tubing $49.50. Even my 30% co-pay is almost as much as buying these items outright on the Internet! Plus there is a $600 charge for a "monitoring" feature... who the heck knows what that is? I'm not receiving any monitoring.

Hopefully since this is a preferred provider I will only be billed 30% of what the insurance company allows, but I'm prepared for the worst. I ran into a similar situation once with a wrist brace that my orthopedist gave me for tendonitis. They insurance company billed $100 for an item that is available on the Internet for $5. In the end, they only charged $20.