Apria v. Lincare: please chime in

Local branches may vary greatly.
Even the good ones may be difficult if they think you may be "easy pickings" or a "troublemaker".
Aim for the center of the road when making YOUR first impressions; informed and fair-minded.
Keep your eyes and ears open, and ask questions. Ask to speak to the RT; if there is one.
Eye contact.

STL Mark wrote:That is like giving you the choice between the Gas Chamber or the Electric Chair. Hard to appreciate the offer of a choice when these are your options.

Oh, good, hanging and disembowelment are not on the list!

I consider DME's to be a lot like used car salesmen.

If you aren't prepared and have done your homework, they'll do everything they can to sell you a car & feature that will make them the most profit.

Do your homework on what your medical insurance plan allows and then monitor closely the bills that you get from your insurance and the DME.


Dave

I have Apria and they have been good to me as far as patient care is concerned. I had quite a bit of difficulty getting used to using a mask initially. They came out to my house several times to try a new mask on me and make sure things were going well. they did not take back the old masks just gave me a new one. Any time I have needed help they have come to me. They have been uniformly kind. My issue with them is they made a mistake in my billing and it has taken months to correct - in fact, I spoke to them yet again today. We will see next month if they finally got it.

Slightly OT, but what do you do when your sleep doctor drags his/her feet giving you a written prescription, insisting you go with their suggested 'sweetheart' DME' (BTW, an obscure place which no one's ever heard of) Yeah, I've heard some stories but would like to get the actual facts. I live in California and would also like someone to direct me to that state's adopted Patient Bill of Rights regarding written prescriptions in hand'. Lacking that, how about some personal stories?

I have had Apria since I got my CPAP 3 years ago. I was impressed when I found this group to learn that my local office had, in fact, given me a good, top-of-the-line machine without me having to twist their arms. When I went in the first time, I was also given a choice of masks in my desired style (nasal pillows). They explained things pretty well, although their one suggestion of laying the hose next to me instead of clipping it in the top of the mask turned out to be a disaster...leaks all over until I figured it out! I like that they call ME when I'm due for new supplies so I don't have to keep track. I've never had an issue with billing...although several occasions in the beginning they sent me the wrong hose and filters, but they sent out new ones and I was not charged for the wrong ones. Shipping is unbelievably fast too. Good luck!

Thank you all for your input!

LINCARE IN FRANLIKIN MASS (and corporate) are the worst,
Shittiest company ever. Stay far away from this POS company!
They suck. Questions?? Lol

After about 10 years I'm switching to Apria. Lincare is great at shipping you supplies but when you have a question regarding new equipment or masks, it takes weeks to get a call back from a clinician. You need to leave messages after messages and maybe a few weeks later you get a call back..I had enough...

That is like giving you the choice between the Gas Chamber or the Electric Chair. Hard to appreciate the offer of a choice when these are your options.

I was going to suggest the choice between shooting or stabbing.

What ever you do NEVER give either one your CREDIT CARD info. Crapria is infamous for charging you full price indiscriminately even if the insurance has paid. They may even charge for items you never ordered or received.

All that being said, I have used Crapria for several years and 2 local offices plus there various phone order services. Everything depends on the person you actually talk to. Some have been great, some horrible. Some speak English language words but have little or no comprehension of what is being said by me or by them.

If you find a good, helpful, friendly, knowledgeable RT and can get what you need without providing credit card info, that would be a good choice.

My DME is a local family operation, who seem to be serious about the "calling" of service in medicine.
I expect to stay with them as long as
a) my insurance covers them,
b) they maintain their current high standards, and
c) they remain in business
I am indeed fortunate to have a good outfit in my corner.
(((I need to remind them of that more)))

FAZ wrote:After about 10 years I'm switching to Apria. Lincare is great at shipping you supplies but when you have a question regarding new equipment or masks, it takes weeks to get a call back from a clinician. You need to leave messages after messages and maybe a few weeks later you get a call back..I had enough...

Did you contact the regional office? Even once? Try it. Apria has a much worse reputation. Lincare has mostly a turnover problem.

Don't know about Apria. Lincare Oswego, 13126 is atrocious. After about eight months I still cannot get them to sign me up for mail replenishment of supplies. It seems to be a black hole of information. Really bad.

pootsie wrote:Apria and Lincare are my two alternatives for DME suppliers in-network.

Does anyone have experience with both of them that they can share to help me choose?

I noticed that Apria's website at least lists some of what is available, while Lincare gives the consumer nothing but a link to give them money.

Thanks

Even tho this thread is 4yrs old the advice is the same, punt, then run. Stay away from any DME that begins with A or L.

Depending on your insurance and how it works you may save money using cpap com and requesting reimbursement.

xxyzx wrote:=======

my insurance wont work with anybody online

YOU may be surprised to learn that my reply was "Clearly" NOT to you. This is not nor was it about YOU.