Any issues with Apria Healthcare?

[Rblum100]

OkAnyone else have issues with Apria Health Care?   My problems included
1. Failure to provide equipment
2. Customer service hold times greater than 50 minutes
3. Different excuses depending on who answered the phone. 

After 3 months I cancelled and went elsewhere. Many YELP reviews had the same issues. 
I am putting this out in the community to see if my experience was indeed rare.  Comments please.

[sheepless]

I've read other complaints about them but in fairness I've read a lot of complaints about a lot dme providers. I've had just one transaction with Apria and I was given wrong info about what I was to be charged (unintentionally I assume, but incompetence nonetheless). unfortunately, I don't think there's a choice with my current insurer, Kaiser. Kaiser charges me less per month than other insurers but they charge 2-3 times what other vendors charge for their services. that's good from the standpoint you pay for what you use rather than monthly fees but it's hard on the pocketbook against a high deductible. from what I read we can do better with some of the online suppliers listed on this site.

[Melman]

I had Apria for years and had all the problems you listed. I switched to Lincare and the experience has been much better. I think it depends on your location, however. I can call directly to the local Lincare office and they are always courteous and helpful. Although there is a local Apria office I needed to call an 800 number and could never get the local office. I have seen many bad reviews of Lincare and some have called it lin-no-care. I have also seen some good reviews for Apria.

[Matt00926]

It's hard to judge a DME company by online reviews only. Only the people who had a truly awful experience are going to bother to post a review. Let's say a DME actually does what they are supposed to do? Great - that's their job. That would not motivate me to write a review.

That all said - I have had negative experiences with Apria Healthcare when I lived in NYC. Their office was located in the middle of a desolate and dangerous area of Queens, NY. They were always charging me all the time and nagging me about replacing equipment even though I told them that no, in fact, I do not need new tubing every couple of months.

[Rblum100]

Thank you for your thoughts on this.

[ruach]

For the past 6 years, I have had mainly very good service with Apria, until recently - I had been trying to get a cloth mask (due to rash from potentially the mask I am using) - In mid-April, I called Apria and confirmed they had received the order from Kaiser, and ordered the mask and I would receive it, and a month later, no mask.

Yesterday late afternoon, I called to find the status. Somehow they didn't understand what I was saying and told me they don't provide masks to Kaiser Patients. What I discovered was that they actually thought I was asking them for a new mask, not asking them for the status of the mask they told me that was ordered already - supposedly . . .  I was speaking to an Apria supervisor!

Now Apria says they did not receive the order for the cloth mask (SleepWeaver Elan) and that I had to go ask my Kaiser Sleep Lab for the mask I want . . .

I should have called earlier last week so that I could contact Kaiser to find out what the deal is with Apria . . . and why they say they never received the order when last month Apria told me they received the order!

And In April when I was trying to get my heated tubing, Apria told me they couldn't order it for me- even though there was a prescription for the heated tube- I had to call Kaiser DME, and Kaiser promptly got the tube ordered and sent to me!

Last night I sent a message to my Respiratory Therapist to ask if there was any way I could get the mask from a Non-Apria company and be reimbursed . . .

[hoser]

I have been forced to use Apria by my prior insurance company.

My problems began when I had to order a new machine. I ordered it in December and would have been fully covered because I had met my deductible for the year. Apria didn't the machine ordered until the second week of January. They then completely messed up the billing. Fast forward to June and I get a bill for some amount that I have no idea what it is for, so I called and spoke to someone. Customer service is a nightmare. I ended up paying the amount and then following up later. I ended up getting a partial refund but I have no idea how their accounting works. I have all of the transactions for machine and supplies and I can't get their math to work.

I thought we were all settled until I got a Collection Notice a few months later. I called the collection company and spoke to someone that was very helpful. What she told me was that Apria outsourced their accounting and it is terrible. I created an accounting and forwarded it to Apria, in the meantime the Collection Company spoke to Apria.

In the end I received a refund for an amount that I cannot figure out, but at this point meh.

[Donna]

I can definitely relate to the issues you have had with Apria. I’ve seen several people fondly refer to the company as “Crapria”, likely because they too have experienced poor customer service. Apria was my first DME provider. My experience: Extremely poor customer service. Never anyone available in the local office. Phone calls answered by an India call center. Repeatedly billed for supplies I never received. Didn’t get the supplies I was supposed to get. My daughter, who was on a lot of oxygen full time, also had problems even obtaining her O2 tanks when needed. I finally dumped them and selected another provider.

[Big Guy]

I've been dealing with ROTECH since last September. Although we have a local office here in our community, they want me to deal with their main office in Florida. 

That's what I have been doing and it's been pretty darn good. I can call their toll-free number, or just connect with them on-line. That's what I do, is the on-line thing. 

If I have questions or want to change an order, they make it easy and simple. They keep me advised of what I'm entitled to and how soon I can place an order. 

I don't know much about DME suppliers, as this is the first time I've ever had to deal with them. But, from what I have experienced so far, I have no complaints.