Here is my belief about the system. I also got the 10 month rental story. When my first provider asked me to bring back the equip. because my ins. carrier changed and they referred me to a new supplier, I asked how much they would just sell me the stuff I had for. They quoted around $1200 for a Remstar Plus w/C-Flex. I then priced it on cpap.com and it was in the $500 range. I then called the supplier and they told me that it was risky dealing online because 'you never know what you are really getting'. I told them the mask I bought for $65 was new in a sealed bag and was the same as the one I got from them, on and on it went. I told them I could buy it online and to check their price . THE SUPPLIER then offered it to me for about $800!
I think that the insurance companies have the suppliers billing them an inflated price so that they can get 10% from me, which is $25/month. That $25 per month will eventually nearly pay for the equipment, leaving the ins. nearly zero to pay. I feel certain their is no way that BCBS is paying that much for these machines when they must pay for thousands of them yearly. They surely must pay much less than we do through cpap.com. I think it's a scam to ensure that we pay ALL the cost and the ins. company pays little or none. Somehow, I think this has to be illegal or atleast unethical, but noone is willing and capable to fight it. The local providers are also accustomed to dealing wioth helpless people for other equipment who are not online savvy or disabled and unable to seek other alternatives. I'm getting ready to buy my own equipment out of pocket and take control of it myself. The only thing holding me back is uncertainty as to whether to buy an autoPAP or a cpap. I'm going to buy the Remstart Plus with C-Flex abd I only have a setting of 8. Any ideas from you guys?