DME sent me a used resmed 10

[SarcasticDave94]

FWIW Apria was called out by me with my ASV number 1 on a possible hours discrepancy. The RT did a swap for my current ASV. RT says there was probably a machine board issue that caused the problem. Uh no I'm not kidding.

[02stat]

FWIW, I am an RT and work at a DME (don't hate me, I can't work in a hospital anymore due to injuries sustained in a car accident) That being said, when I first started at the company almost 4 years ago, things were so so different with insurances, reimbursement etc. Since they have cut back on reimbursement for every item, RM & RP haven't reduced our costs. I hate the fact that the all-mighty dollar is so important here, but sadly, it is.
I have been struggling/arguing with the bosses about the cost & ordering of everything I need.
What I have been doing is using the machines that have been returned to us by our non-compliant patients is to use them for the initial 3 month compliance period. If the person meets the compliance then I will have them bring the old one back and then give them a brand new machine with 0 hours on it.
What some people don't know is that what Medicare pays isn't the full amount that the statements may show. They have an initial 3 month period, then they reduce the reimbursement by 25%. It's insane. We barely break even on putting out the PAP machines.
Not all of us in the home care business are out to take advantage of people. I'll be the first one to tell someone if they can get something somewhere cheaper, better, better doctors etc.
Again, don't hate me, I'm just the RT!!

[Nightynite]

FWIW, I am an RT and work at a DME (don't hate me, I can't work in a hospital anymore due to injuries sustained in a car accident) That being said, when I first started at the company almost 4 years ago, things were so so different with insurances, reimbursement etc. Since they have cut back on reimbursement for every item, RM & RP haven't reduced our costs. I hate the fact that the all-mighty dollar is so important here, but sadly, it is.
I have been struggling/arguing with the bosses about the cost & ordering of everything I need.
What I have been doing is using the machines that have been returned to us by our non-compliant patients is to use them for the initial 3 month compliance period.  If the person meets the compliance then I will have them bring the old one back and then give them a brand new machine with 0 hours on it.
What some people don't know is that what Medicare pays isn't the full amount that the statements may show. They have an initial 3 month period, then they reduce the reimbursement by 25%. It's insane. We barely break even on putting out the PAP machines.
Not all of us in the home care business are out to take advantage of people. I'll be the first one to tell someone if they can get something somewhere cheaper, better, better doctors etc.
Again, don't hate me, I'm just the RT!!

I agree with what you would do after the compliance period, should be standard operating procedure.  I called Medicare and they also agreed with me after I told them what the DME was doing. But they were useless as for a solution. It appears that nobody cares and just don’t want  to do anything.  I have now called DME corporate twice. And my local branch 3 times.
Im at the point of putting my machine in a paper bag and going over there.
The branch office only takes people with an appointment, I can’t even make one of those.

as far as what Medicare pays, you can go on Medicare website and see what a dme bills vs. what Medicare actually pays.  It’s easy to add up what is actually paid.

[SarcasticDave94]

Hi 02stat and welcome to Apnea Board. Sounds like you're not the bad RT most of us cross paths with, so kudos to you. You are likely aware that a few bad apples ruin the whole bushel.

[Freddavey]

I got lucky, my machine only had about 100 hours on it. I wasn't happy but didn't want the aggravation of having to send it back because it was shipped to me. I think this happens a lot because most people getting a new machine don't know to check the total machine hours on them.

[Big Guy]

I got lucky, my machine only had about 100 hours on it. I wasn't happy but didn't want the aggravation of having to send it back because it was shipped to me. I think this happens a lot because most people getting a new machine don't know to check the total machine hours on them.

Exactly! I didn't have a clue, until I became a member of this forum. 

[Cruiser]

Did you take it over in a paper bag?

[Nightynite]

Did you take it over in a paper bag?

No, I wrote a letter to there corporate customer help and did some research on small claims court.

I also called the local branch today and only got the answering machine.

Consumer affairs website has over 1k complaints and many similar to mine.

Small claims court is a $15 filing fee.  I’m seriously thinking about this. It’s a simple process.

And some Apria contact info. for others that are searching.
https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/apria-healthcare/

[IP Nightly]

I've never seen anything about hours run. Where would I look for that?

[Sleeprider]

I've never seen anything about hours run.  Where would I look for that?

Highlight the My Options menu and click on the control knob, then scroll down to About.  You will see Run Hours displayed there.