Apnea Board Forum - CPAP | Sleep Apnea
[Equipment] SLEEP APNEA SUPPLIERS - Printable Version

+- Apnea Board Forum - CPAP | Sleep Apnea (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums)
+-- Forum: Public Area (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-Public-Area)
+--- Forum: Main Apnea Board Forum (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-Main-Apnea-Board-Forum)
+--- Thread: [Equipment] SLEEP APNEA SUPPLIERS (/Thread-Equipment-SLEEP-APNEA-SUPPLIERS)



SLEEP APNEA SUPPLIERS - goofa - 02-11-2015

[/b]Hi... I am on Medicare and I am looking for a new company to get my BiPAP supplies from. I am presently using and Apria Healthcare for the last 14 years and their customer service has sunken to an all-time low. In my opinion they are pathetic and do not care about their customers. You can never reach your branch office. I have called the CEO's office and corporate complaints office to register a complaint, and was given a commitment from them to get back to me within 72 hours and never received a call back. I could use your help in finding a new supplier. Thank you, GregSad


RE: SLEEP APNEA SUPPLIERS - OpalRose - 02-11-2015

(02-11-2015, 06:02 PM)goofa Wrote: [/b]Hi... I am on Medicare and I am looking for a new company to get my BiPAP supplies from. I am presently using and Apria Healthcare for the last 14 years and their customer service has sunken to an all-time low. In my opinion they are pathetic and do not care about their customers. You can never reach your branch office. I have called the CEO's office and corporate complaints office to register a complaint, and was given a commitment from them to get back to me within 72 hours and never received a call back. I could use your help in finding a new supplier. Thank you, GregSad

goofa,
Yes, Apria has a bad reputation.
Being that you are on Medicare, call your insurance company and ask for a list of DME's in your area. They should be able to give you some options.
Good luck!



RE: SLEEP APNEA SUPPLIERS - trish6hundred - 02-11-2015

Hi goofa,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hang in there for more responses to your post and much success to you as you continue your CPAP therapy and in finding a different DME.


RE: SLEEP APNEA SUPPLIERS - Sleeprider - 02-11-2015

There is no perfect answer. Many online providers can supply equipment at a better price, but may be out of network for your insurance. The best bet is get a complete list of the DME suppliers in your area and get to know the reimbursement policy for out of network sellers. This is all about insurance making the acquisition of your equipment so expensive and difficult that you will go elsewhere and leave them alone.

It worked on me.


RE: SLEEP APNEA SUPPLIERS - PaulaO2 - 02-11-2015

If you want to pay out of pocket, there's a plethora of online suppliers. We have a list of some of them here on the forum. Link to the Suppliers List is at the top of every page.

If you want insurance to pay, especially the Medicare, you will want to stick with local. Online suppliers do not accept insurance. As the others have said, you'll need to contact your insurance company to see who they accept.


RE: SLEEP APNEA SUPPLIERS - Mike1953 - 02-14-2015

go to this web page medicare.gov follow the instructions here is the link
http://www.medicare.gov/supplierdirectory/search.html


RE: SLEEP APNEA SUPPLIERS - TheManseHen - 02-14-2015

Hi Goofa,
I haven't had to deal with medicare for c-pap so no help there I'm afraid. Good advise above.

This will only apply if you live in the states, What I found when I recently looked at the list my insurance covered, which was about 4 suppliers locally one of which is the one you have had and found wanting, I used that list and went to The Better Business Bureau (BBB) to double check if any had extra bad or good ratings.
I also cross referenced by checking on Yelp (only helpful if you live in a decent sized city/metro area) to see if there were ratings there for the said companies. It might also help to see if you have a local A.W.A.K.E chapter and the folk there might know more of your area experience. The company I went with, was the "least" of the mediocre. DME's (Durible Medical Equipment) folks aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, and are famous for not really caring much once they have been paid. The one I chose, lead the pack because they at least had a membership with the BBB which makes it a bit more leverage in reporting bad practices etc. They had a 2.5 out of 5.0 on yelp, and that was the BEST of the DME's reviewed there.

May the Force, Be with you!
The Manse Hen


RE: SLEEP APNEA SUPPLIERS - justMongo - 02-14-2015

I'm not sure if this applies nationwide. US Medicare went to a list of competitive bid winners (at least in metro areas.)
You must make sure you use a competitive bid winner if you wish to have medicare pay for it.