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Dealing with a dishonest Healthcare provider
#31
RE: Dealing with a dishonest Healthcare provider
Thank you for your advice. I am satisfied with the new company. I am telling my sleep doctor about the old bad company, Apria. (Can I say the name or is it not allowed?) I will also write a review on Yelp. I noticed that the local Yelp reviews them very badly. I can't believe that my family doctor sent me there. When I next see her, I will tell her the whole story, so she no longer refers to them.
I told the whole story to my health insurance company, and they were very interested. I guess that is why they switched me to the new one in 24 hrs.
Kimberly from HonoluluSleep-well
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#32
RE: Dealing with a dishonest Healthcare provider
I'm having similar issues with my DME. They can't get the right mask. My doctor ordered the Airsense 10, they couldn't come up with that. I feel like I'm stuck. Every time I talk to the girl, she lies about having the right supplies in stock. I'm a newbie and this is totally discouraging.
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#33
RE: Dealing with a dishonest Healthcare provider
Same advice, get your Rx FROM YOUR DOC -- get it in your hand (although you can get by without it too).

Find another DME (in your insurance network if that matters) and just CHANGE!

If you have the Rx send it to them, and if you don't they will contact the Doc and get it anyway so it really doesn't matter THAT much. (At least in the U.S. and probably in most other places.)

If you are having trouble, including finding an "in network" DME, call your insurance company -- most of them are very aggressive about getting you what they pay for.

Seriously, just adopt the attitude that YOU (and your insurance company) are PAYING for this and you have a RIGHT to quality items at a FAIR price.

If you let them run over you then many DME's will do so -- do let them do that.

Stand up for yourself and take your business elsewhere if you don't get EXACTLY what you are owed.
Sweet Dreams,

HerbM
Sleep study AHI: 49 RDI: 60 -- APAP 10-11 w/AHI: 1.5 avg for 7-days (up due likely to hip replacement recovery)

"We can all breathe together or we will all suffocate alone."
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#34
RE: Dealing with a dishonest Healthcare provider
(09-20-2014, 09:26 PM)kfujioka Wrote: Thank you for your advice. I am satisfied with the new company. I am telling my sleep doctor about the old bad company, Apria. (Can I say the name or is it not allowed?) I will also write a review on Yelp. I noticed that the local Yelp reviews them very badly. I can't believe that my family doctor sent me there. When I next see her, I will tell her the whole story, so she no longer refers to them.
I told the whole story to my health insurance company, and they were very interested. I guess that is why they switched me to the new one in 24 hrs.

crapria has a not so good reputation in a lot of states. my insurance company told me almost a year ago that they are coaching/working with their billing department. I left crapria and went out of network and then my insurance company gave crapria my contact info because they were in network and crapria contacted me to order supplies and they also sent me a statement telling me they would not order my supplies because I owed them money....money for something I never received and didn't owe them for. As a matter of fact, they billed my insurance company and got paid for about 3 items that I never received and still, almost a year later, they have not returned the money to my insurance company. So, what did I do? I called crapria and told them I did NOT owe them money and to put a big, fat note in their system to never contact me about ordering supplies from them because it would never happen. I returned my CPAP machine to them and got another one from a different DME. I will never use crapria again but the issue is, they won the competitive bid contract with medicare.....so sad
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#35
RE: Dealing with a dishonest Healthcare provider
Kim:
Welcome. I am sorry to hear of your aggravations but rest assured that you are not alone. For every upstanding DME out there there are ten who are in it for a quick and maximum buck. I have learned this the hard way. Believe me. We are now very wary of whom we deal with.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Educate, Advocate, Contemplate.
Herein lies personal opinion, no professional advice, which ALL are well advised to seek.



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#36
RE: Dealing with a dishonest Healthcare provider
Changing DMEs isnt hard. Heck I fired my first one before we really got started because they said they werent "allowed" by their national HQ to get the machine I wanted. I checked and their National office had never heard of such a restriction. Told them again at the local office what machine I wanted they said no so I said bye bye. Went to a DME closer to me that was more than happy to get any machine I wanted in the ins code prescribed.

I already had a O2 condenser from them for a few weeks as ordered but when that order was up they wouldnt come get it. It took another call to their national who actually were nice folks, telling them I wasnt paying another dime past the order date, and would make a flower pot out of the condenser if it was here much longer to get the local office to pick it up.

Needless to say I have my pap machine thru the 2nd DME. They are out of network but as long as they agreeded to accept my ins plan that didnt matter and they were happy to do so.
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#37
RE: Dealing with a dishonest Healthcare provider
Thank G-d for this forum. I know that I am not alone suffering with Crapria. My insurance uses Carecentrix to coordinate DME, so they subbed to Crapria. 1st Crapria claimed not to have the order from Carecentrix (even though it's transmitted electronically), then they claimed they got it a week after the 2nd transmittal from CareCentrix, but needed to get a Dr's order (what.. how did they get the order without a Dr.'s order??). I called back to Carecentrix, and they offered to switch to another DME (yay), but then I found out that they had delayed the 2nd order transmittal to Crapria, so I told them.. no just leave well enough alone. What did they do.. switched me to a DME on the east coast when I'm on the west coast, who on contacting me insisted that they HAD to ship an S9 not an A10, that they couldn't process the rental from the insurance co, because I was already a cpap user, and that it would take extra days to get a modem sent with the s9. The capper.. that they would only ship ground and it would take a week + to get the gear... and no fitting.. YUCK.
Needless to say.. I told them to forgettaboutit... and called back to Carecentrix. They switched me back to Crapria.. sheesh...
At least after a week of calls with Crapria (btw.. don't every select "existing patient".. you will be on hold FOREVER) they finally got it.. I'm not taking a S9 after having a RemStar Plus LX for 14 years.. If I'm getting a new machine at least ship me the NEW machine. They too prompted for a CC, and this is for a 'rental' (my insurance company insisted they say, even though I've used CPAP for 14 years). I arranged to pick up the machine and mask, got it from the front desk, signed off the paperwork and walked out.. NO CC .. I figure there's a risk, as the rental is with the insurance co., but figure if they stop paying the problem (and contract) is with them.

Oh well.. the latest is that the mask Nuance Pro Gel mask was in the package wrong.. the seal on the package was broken.. I figure it got opened by someone or something.. but the paper wrap on the headgear is OK.. so I'll clean it (as suggested) and figure it's unworn.. I'm too tired to go back and pick up a mask from an hour away.

They are all crooks as far as I'm concerned... but some at least provide service..

I recently had a hospice situation and DME was delivered same day.. oxygen tank, O2 condenser, mask, suction, nebulizer, bed, air pressure mattress, chair, etc.

SO.. why can't Crapria get a CPAP machine delivered in 3 weeks?
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#38
RE: Dealing with a dishonest Healthcare provider
I think that you have hit on the problem. I think that for Crapria, CPAP is a small part of their business so it gets little attention. Of course it may also be a profit margin consideration. The profit margin on CPAP (although high) may be less than their other revenue streams and so gets less attention.

Best Regards,

PaytonA

Admin Note:
PaytonA passed away in September 2017
Click HERE to read his Memorial Thread

~ Rest in Peace ~
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#39
RE: Dealing with a dishonest Healthcare provider
Crapria won the competitive bid contract with medicare so they get all of the business unless you are like me and get rid of crapria and go out of network. I personally think that it should be mandatory that the power to be that makes these decisions need to use the services of the company without the company knowing it before they actually finalize the contract. Bet that would change some of their decisions. I prefer the "mom and pop" businesses but they cannot compete with the crapria's of the world so that means that service and customer care is in the toilet; if we had the "mom and pop" businesses, those that depend on their customers and can't afford to do what crapria does to their customers, we would all be a lot better off.
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#40
RE: Dealing with a dishonest Healthcare provider
You know, I have been reading so many complaints about DME's and it would seem to me that most are really bad in some way. They either have really bad customer service or they charge fee's that seem criminal. Sometimes both is true. What I can't understand is why has nothing been done about it. I called the insurance commish and they said the DME's do what they do because there are no law's on the books to govern them. She said that there really needs to be some regulations in place to protect the consumer and the insurance companies from fraudulent billing. I like the idea of giving them a honest Yelp review but it seems that it does little to change the way they do business. I think if more people were willing to file complaints with the attorney generals office then maybe things would change as there would be more of a push to look into the shady practice at hand. As a result of the DME that I am dealing with I have to buy a CPAP out of pocket from an online supplier. I really don't have the money for that but I will not let them scam me into paying to much for my equiptment. I have filed a complaint and will stick buy it because they were charging me for the humidifier for a CPAP that has it integrated into the cpap. I talked to the manager of the dme and she said they will not take the charge off, she said I can return it if I want. She then said before you do make sure you let your doctor know as he may need the data on the card. I think she was hoping that the doctor would talk some sense into me. I am still going to return it. She said when I do all I have to do is bring it in and sign some forms. I am not going to sign any for they put in front of me as it may be a promise to pay for stuff that I am returning, I don't trust them at all.
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