Ontario Suppliers

[SleepWrangler]

This is from the Assisted Devices Program (the program that subsidizes Cpap machines in ontario for everyone)

I'm still figuring this out but I don't think the Ontario ADP program covers consumable supplies. I've budgeted $500 for filters, mask cushions, hoses, and replacement mask and headset for this year.

These have to be self-funded, under different federal programs if you qualify, or covered by insurance. The supplies will cost 10x more than the initial purchase over the lifetime of the medical device. A bit silly really because it encourages people to take risks to save money. Hope I am wrong about this ADP shortfall but don't believe so.

I like Supplier #1 a lot. Their prices are excellent and policies are just so well thought out. Nice. There is also Canada CPAP Supply. I'll probably buy from Supplier #1, have the supplies delivered to a US holding service at the border, then import across the border myself. If I combine this with a planned vacation in SC then I can save on taxes and shipping costs too.

[SnuffySleeper]

Nope, they don't SleepWrangler. Just 75 to 100 percent of the cost of a machine and basic mask every 5 years.

Everything else is mainly on you in that time period. Which means I'll be ordering from the States when I need to replace a mask or cushions.

[Hun]

I find dealing with Canada CPAP Supplies out of the US was great.. Just have to make sure good old Canada customs does not charge duty or tax:-)


Here in AB the sleep people quoted $2400 for mask, unit and hose.. I picked up a VPAP auto and a bunch of supplies for $200 less than their base CPAP cost:-(

[Thefabulousmrsk]

Soo my sleep clinic deals with vital aire. I'm not happy with their service (forgot an appointment on us and could re book for 3 weeks!) I have the loaner from them. I'm assuming I can take my business elsewhere as long as I return the loaner right?

[SnuffySleeper]

Soo my sleep clinic deals with vital aire. I'm not happy with their service (forgot an appointment on us and could re book for 3 weeks!) I have the loaner from them. I'm assuming I can take my business elsewhere as long as I return the loaner right?

Yes! They might tell you it's not possible, it is. You may have to get another copy of the prescription from your doctor.

[poirierp]

FPM Solutions CPAP and Medical Devices
great place for cpap supplies in ontario,much cheaper than vitale air,and medigas,they also have free shipping.Worth checking out

I bought a couple things at FPM in scarborough . Seem to be knowledgeable and
Affordable

I got my machine from FPM Solutions from their website and thought I would chip in as I didn't find much information on them elsewhere and wanted to share.

Note that their website isn't the greatest and you have to call to get a lot of the pricing which is annoying. However, the price they gave me on a package deal was half of what I was quoted locally so worth the effort. With the current CND-USD exchange rate and additional cost of international shipping from sites in the USA they ended up being the cheapest I found for what I wanted.

Got a great deal on Resmed A10 package with quick ground shipping. They even took $60 off the quote they gave me when I hesitated which isn't a lot percentage wise but I am not complaining. Threw in a lot of extras and goodies in the full APAP package also worth another $100 - $200 (washable water container in addition to the distilled only one in the box, heated tube in addition to the slimline tube already in the box, two hypoallergenic filters in addition to the standard one in the box).

Very Happy... they just need to improve their website to make it more user friendly but still worth the hassle.

[CHanlon]

Oh, here's a topic I can sink my teeth into. :-)

I'm in Ontario, and I've used a few different DMEs.

VitalAire. Referred here by my sleep doc. Pretty sure he owned shares in the company. Absolutely nothing was about what I wanted for my therapy, it was all about what the Dr wanted me to have. Seemed to know their stuff at first, but less so as I progressed. For instance, I was sent here for an APAP machine basically right out of my first sleep lab, before the titration study, since my apnea was too severe to wait 8 month for the titration appointment. I walked in, the RT took one look at my beard and said "You want this mask..." (He was right, it was most comfortable, sealed perfectly, and I've used it ever since.) They set me up with a repironics APAP machine as a loaner, told me to come back in a couple weeks. Machine was set as per the doc, 10 cm H20 to 18 cm H20. Slept like a baby. 9 hours on CPAP the first night, felt 10 years younger in the morning. I went back in 3 weeks for them to dump the data... data showed 95th percentile pressure of 18 and median of 18. "Great! So we can set you up with a fixed CPAP set at 18!" I asked how he arrived at that. "Well, most of the time the machine runs at 18 or less." "Um... yeah. So what if the required pressure is, in fact, 19?" "What do you mean?" "Well...if it's set to a max 18, and it always runs at or around 18... wouldn't it make sense that it's capping out the whole time?" So, they sent me home with the same machine set 12 to 20... and the number in 2 weeks was, indeed, 19. So they sent me home with a fixed CPAP, set at 19. Blew the mask off my face all night, suffered aerophagia, etc. With or without ramp, etc. Went back the next day, livid. "Oh, your doctor won't prescribe an APAP. He doesn't believe in them." Doc decided, eventually (after a titration study during which I slept maybe an hour, in short doses), that I should have CPAP set at 14. So I started talking to another DME in town, Medelife.

Medelife. Told me that there is no reason at all that I should just be happy with a CPAP machine, if I can't tolerate the pressure. Explained that ADP will pay for an APAP if I met certain condition... primarily variance of about 5 points of pressure, during the night. (I do.) And the Doc has to prescribe one. He doesn't believe in them... so he doesn't. This RT couldn't get him to write a new script, and wasn't really trying. I finally told the doc to write a script for APAP so I could buy the thing myself, and ordered one from Medelife. "It'll take about 2 weeks." 2 weeks later... the day I had to return the loathed fixed CPAP loaner, "Oh, I forgot to order it." Buh-bye.

Medigas. Walked into the place 20 minutes after the above failure. Left 20 minutes later with my shiny new ResMed S9 Auto. In the RT's office, she's getting ready to set me up, machine is in the box... "I'll be back in a second..." By the time she got back I had it out of the box, programmed, set to 12-20, and ready to go. "Did you set...?" Yes. "And ...?" Yes. "Oh. You're pretty well informed about these machines, I guess I really don't need to teach you much..." Yeah, I had the clinicians manual, the software, etc. (And a talent for computers and electronics.) Thank you Apneaboard...

I've used Medigas for supplies, etc, since. But I just found out that the Motion Specialties in town is a CPAP supplier, too. Didn't know that. ROFL - through all of the above, my office was next door to them. /d'oh

Motion Specialties. No solid impression. I broke a clip on my headgear a couple months ago, and popped over for a replacement. They had it, they knew what it was at a glance, it was cheap, and they were pleasant to deal with.

[Pat32rf]

when first diagnosed 8 years ago i didn't know any better so I did what I was told....... Spent the next year doing research and finally gave up on my CPAP. Last year a new doctor started the wheel rolling again.
From dealing with the gov program, Vitalaire and Medigas I know that our list price on everything is about 2x the American price. Then the government pays half of the machine price. The Vitalaire places I've checked are all part owned by a local Dr who also owns a sleep clinic. When I got my CPAP from Medigas I was not given the instruction book, but verbal instructions. I tried to find them on line and found that the machine was obsolete.
I have been told that the government will replace the machine after five years. I've also been told that we must pay half to do so.
My buddy who is retired from a gov post, and on their health plan, gets a new machine and mask on a regular basis. My son on social assistance gets much the same deal. I am a retired worker with no health plan and can not even write a machine off against my taxes as my income is too low..... My rant for today

Lucky I have acquired a few masks and machines to play with.

[TorontoCPAPguy]

I am neither a Greeter nor an Advisory member, but rest assured what I am about to say is pretty solid information.

First, most DME's ANYWHERE are going to want a copy of a prescription so if you have or had a prescription I would suggest that you photocopy same, get a copy of same AND SCAN IT INTO A PDF FILE using CutePDF or such. This will make life easier.

Secondly, be aware that in Ontario you are going to get scr####d on pricing and service. Problem is that if you are getting equipment under the government plan, they will only give you what the doc writes down in his Rx. So you need to beat the doc over the head in order to get, for argument sake, an S9 AUTO instead of the cheapest piece of crap that the DME can fill the Rx with. I got royally pooched on my first blower. Don't need to go there. Suffice it to say that I found the S9 AUTO online for about what the upcharges were for the cheap crap that the DME in Ontario wanted to give me and did, in fact, give me, first time around. I still have that unit for spare and use it when I sit in the recliner in the den. I found the S9 AUTO complete with humidifier and hose for about $650 each online. Took some work but I found them. In Ontario, you are going to pay $350 for a Mirage Quattro full face mask and the supplier, for some reason, is going to push this at you after doing a demo with a hard plastic mask that hurts after 10 minutes of wearing it. The salesperson will ask to be excused for a phone call or whatever to make sure that your nose turns purple and then will upsell you and RIP YOU OFF. That $350 should buy 3 or perhaps even 4 masks online on Ebay or such. Brand new and sealed, but not sold as a complete unit. You will get the mask and the headgear separately. Perhaps even the mask split up with the silicon cushion separately. This is to make it legal to sell it to you and ship it across the border (we don't bother - we have it shipped to our US residence). CAVEAT EMPTOR in Ontario... the government is clueless that they are being taken for a ride and so are most buyers.

Need Oxygen infused? The Ontario government will gladly provide you with, for instance, an oxygen concentrator like the Everflo Q 5 and pay the supplier for the unit. The supplier will only rent the unit out... you will not be able to find a supplier to buy the unit in Ontario. So I went online with Rx in hand and found the Everflo Q stateside for $650 and bought two of them (one for backup). This compares pretty favourably to the $125/month that the DME's in Ontario will try to charge you as YOUR SHARE of the cost of the rent for the concentrator. Is this a rip or what? So, for the cost of RENTING my oxygen concentrator for one year I have purchased TWO of them from a reasonably reputable supplier stateside, online. Identical units. On these I chose to have them shipped directly to me at my home near Toronto rather than lug them home from stateside. Still, even with shipping, I BOUGHT TWO EVERFLO Q's for the cost of renting ONE for a year in Ontario. Get the ones that have an oxygen quality monitor built in. Oh, and the US supplier will toss in non-crush 25' hosing with each of them. For this you will pay through the nose in Ontario as well.

Well, there's my story and rant..... the bottom line is that it is often cheaper to buy online, especially when it comes to masks and oxygen concentrators. Caveat Emptor... Let the Buyer Beware!

As a matter of interest, I would also pick up some Control III disinfectant to wash my masks and humidifier tank in along with some odourless soap. Also a few containers of CPAP wipes at about $7 a container of 60 to clean my mask every morning. A clean mask will work better. And I have 4 masks, which I rotate through weekly and wash once a month.

Sorry for the long post but this is information that everyone in Ontario needs to know.

[rokky]

Has anyone dealt with cpapoutlet in Toronto? Best pricing I can find so far in Canada. Would be nice to hear feedback.