Good/bad DME supplier?

[SleepyTexasGirl]

For DME suppliers that are part of a regional or national chain, does anyone have a supplier they really like or hate? 

I think Lincare, Aerocare, Monitor Medical, and Pacific Pulmonary Services are some chains in Texas that my insurance covers.

[Homerec130]

I have had good luck with Pacific (which has a new name beginning with A). My wife also has Pacific and has had some billing issues - they never updated the address they wanted the check sent to with our insurer. That has been fixed. I think that issue was as she came to Pacific when they bought Tibro. I get a quarterly email asking if I need to order any supplies. My primary insurance is Medicare.

[Osiris357]

I have to use Lincare because that’s the only one my insurance will deal with. So far it hasn’t been that bad. The one issue I have with them is if you don’t like the first mask they give you you only have 1 shot to get it right. I found that very frustrating until I was written a lifetime cpap supply script and found what I needed that way

[Mosquitobait]

I had Lincare and was fairly happy with them (other than the limit on the facemask). However, others have had Lincare and had a terrible time. Some depends on the office, some on the warehouse. The turnover at these large places creates a lot of havoc. In general, one of the RTs at my local office said that the warehouse understands warehousing, but do not understand medical supplies. I order the heated tubing to guarantee that I get good quality tubing rather than the cheesy and loud knockoff. I had to get my brand name Resmed filters directly through the office because the warehouse does not supply them AT ALL. I switched from Lincare to my local hospital supply place. Have had my problems with them as well, but we seem to have most things worked out. I'm restricted to what places Medicare allows and none of them are just walk in and pick up something.

[Big Guy]

I've been using AllCare / Rotech since having started SA Therapy, which was in Sept. of 2018. There is a local office that gave me my machine and got me started.

But, I get my supplies from Rotech which is based in Florida. This is the 1st time I've ever dealt with a DME supplier. So far, they have been pretty good and no problems or issues to report.

I turned 65 in late October. I'm now on Medicare. Not sure if that is going to change things any. 

[SarcasticDave94]

Currently, Apria is my DME for my ASV and supplies. They're not too bad mostly on the local level for me. A warehouse is but an hour away so supplies get here in about 2 days. Not exactly express shipping but it's also not 7 days either.

I've used franchise name/Rotech combo for the first CPAP, BPAP and a hospital bed/mattress. They were only OK, starts out really well then fizzled when problems happened (which were my fault). I have zero through them now and it'll continue this way for a long time.

Lincare is my current bed/mattress DME. OK ish for now. But now that evil insurance approved then unapproved that bed, we'll see if Lincare helps or hinders.

[OpalRose]

My local DME sold out to Rotech based in Florida. They transferred all customer files to them without asking.
So for now, I’ll give them a chance.

Actually, I’m not even sure I have coverage thru them yet, as my insurance may consider them Out of Network. There is no one left in my local area other than Apria, and I’m not going there.

[70sSanO]

I’ve always had a physical prescription in hand and did not let my doctor send it electronically.

I have always felt I have more leverage if I control the prescription and not the DME. It takes a bit more effort, but you can call and talk to DME’s you are considering. They’ll tell you to have your doctor send it, but you let them know it will give it to whoever can provide the right machine.

John

[SleepyTexasGirl]

I’ve always had a physical prescription in hand and did not let my doctor send it electronically.

I have always felt I have more leverage if I control the prescription and not the DME.  It takes a bit more effort, but you can call and talk to DME’s you are considering.  They’ll tell you to have your doctor send it, but you let them know it will give it to whoever can provide the right machine.

John

That sounds like a good approach. There are several not far away, including one that I just dropped in to see if they had models of the ones I was considering. If they know their business isn’t guaranteed they might pay better attention. Since I’m trying to get it by the end of the year I’d really like them to move quickly. 

Pretty much all the suppliers have bad online reviews, including the one my dad uses and likes. But that office is 40 miles from me.

[booksfan]

I use a local company, Respicare. They are about 45 minutes away from me, which was an issue when I started and was trying new masks trying to find one that worked. They are very responsive and now supply me with my mask of choice, the Bleep.