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Received CPAP machine from Apria with 699 hours on it!
#1
Received CPAP machine from Apria with 699 hours on it!
I am new to CPAP, and I received my CPAP device a few days ago. I have not used the machine yet as Apria also sent me the wrong type of mask, so I am waiting for that to arrive.

I was going through the manual and controls and see there are 699 hours recorded on under run time! It is my understanding that data can be erased but not the run time hours.

My understanding of how my insurance works is they rent the machine for 3 months to see if I am compliant, and then they buy it and I own it. Has anyone else had experience with Apria? After three months do they send me a new, prmemnet device or are they going to try to get me to keep this one?

So before i call Apria to complain ... are they allowed to send out used equipment?

Wha points can I raise to get them to send me new machine?

Thanks for any advice any one can offer.
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#2
RE: Received CPAP machine from Apria with 699 hours on it!
You better read the copies of the paperwork you signed. If it states that you'll be buying the current machine you better take it back and demand a new one. If if doesn't say that I'd call them anyway and tell them you want a new machine if your buying. I'd also call your insurance company and let them know what's going on. Apria is not well liked by many users so I wouldn't trust them.
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#3
RE: Received CPAP machine from Apria with 699 hours on it!
Ask, no INSIST on a new machine.  And tell them you will not be trusting them that it is new that you will be checking it yourself.  YOU are the Customer!!!

Also tell them you want a  NEW ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet.  What model did they give you?  THIS IS IMPORTANT.  Tell the that you wer expecting a NEW ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet and well accept nothing else!!!

The H*** with it.  Read this Dealing with a DME  Not complete yet, but enough so that you will get the idea.   You are not the first one here to get a "new" (to you) machine.

My guess is that you have what we affectionately call a "Brick".  Read the above article.

Why you want Auto CPAP.

  • It is a very versatile machine

  • It can be used in either Fixed CPAP or Auto CPAP modes

  • It provides Compliance Data

  • It may be used for home-titration

  • It provides full efficacy data (detailed data down to breath by breath info if necessary) that can be read and evaluated by doctors office to modify treatment or yourself for “info. This data can either eliminate the need for an additional sleep study or highlight the need for an additional study.

  • You will be using this machine every night for about 5 years, It is likely that your treatment will change over this time. The autoset function will adjust pressure as required to meet changing circumstances (even mundane things like sleeping on your back or side)

  • The "For Her" includes an extra algorithm which provides gentler pressure changes and is (apparently) more attuned to the patterns of apneas experienced by women

  • The Resmed machines typically respond much faster to precursors, killing many apneas before they get a chance to develop

  • These machines are supported by SleepyHead software to allow you to monitor and optimise your own treatment.


Fred
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#4
RE: Received CPAP machine from Apria with 699 hours on it!
Hi bdsc64,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
I wish you good luck in getting this problem resolved and also wit getting started with CPAP therapy.
Hang in there for more responses to your post.
trish6hundred
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#5
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RE: Received CPAP machine from Apria with 699 hours on it!
Thanks for your post Fred.  Thanks

I read enough in these forums to know to ask my doctor to write my prescription for a specific machine, so that I wouldn't have to argue with DME about what model I would receive, and I decided on the Resmed AirSense 10 AutoSet.

Thanks for everyone's replies os far.

I have been living undiagnosed for many years and am looking forward to the benefits of CPAP!

Has any one dealt with Apria and gotten them to give a 0 hour runtime machine, and if so, how did they approached it?
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#6
RE: Received CPAP machine from Apria with 699 hours on it!
Insist on a new machine. Your insurance pays for a new machine. The DME will claim they’re a “rental company”, but in fact, if you’re compliant, the machine is yours.

This happened to me, too. 535 hours. Luckily, I caught it in the DME office. I certainly wasn't prepared for the lying and the lengths they went to to get me to take that machine. My Sleep Center even supports the idea the DME is entitled to issue you used equipment. They are not. And they’re definitely not entitled to mislead patients.

Points you can raise? “My insurance company pays for a new machine, my insurance company pays for a new machine” x10. You: “Oh, you don’t have one in stock? I can wait. What day and time will it be available?” Them: “Let me talk to the manager.” Cue to you: this all seems very familiar from the last time you bought a car. A while later, the “tech” (aka used car salesperson) returns and tells you some BS... stick to your guns.

As back up, there’s always “Let me check with my insurance company and/or sleep center about my options for choosing a different DME.”
——

While you’re cross checking paperwork, check to make sure they actually handed over the items they said they gave you.


Xxxxxxxxxx

I wish this forum had a checklist for what to pay attention to at the DME pick up appointment. Maybe as part of the “before you pick up your machine” post. It’s so easy to get ripped off, and I really had to prepare for that appointment with ideas from here.
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#7
RE: Received CPAP machine from Apria with 699 hours on it!
(01-24-2018, 12:44 PM)HalfAsleep Wrote: I wish this forum had a checklist for what to pay attention to at the DME pick up appointment. Maybe as part of the “before you pick up your machine” post. It’s so easy to get ripped off, and I really had to prepare for that appointment with ideas from here.

Good Idea  PM me with your suggested list

Fred
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#8
RE: Received CPAP machine from Apria with 699 hours on it!
Fred, in addition to the excellent advice you've put in the Wiki thus far about making sure one gets an optimal machine, I'd include in a checklist asking the Respiratory Technician dealing with the device to show prospective new users the usage hours on the device prior to them accepting it.

I did this when I got my ASV recently. To be honest, they seemed to act with slightly hurt feelings when I asked to see the usage hours for myself (after being assured it was new), but I responded that I'd heard some DMEs, certainly not you guys sometimes provided machine that had been previously used and I wanted to be certain this wasn't the case here.

That seemed to satisfy them. The machine was new.

It was Apria BTW.

Great advice above.

Bill
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#9
RE: Received CPAP machine from Apria with 699 hours on it!
Checklist will be there.
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#10
RE: Received CPAP machine from Apria with 699 hours on it!
My DME is Apria, and I've had my "new" ASV replaced within one month of having it when I discovered a run time versus user time discrepancy. It was replaced with a verified-by-me new machine.

Advice? Call them ASAP. Better yet, if your RT gave his or her e-mail address, reach them that way. The third way was that my local Apria RT gave her extension number on the corporate customer service voice prompt system. "Press x to dial by extension...enter the 5 digit extension number" or something like that. Unfortunate for her, she didn't know I'd actually use it to call.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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