SUPPLY RECOMENDATIONS

[3winks]

Can any one recommend a dme supplier for the pacific northwest.One that will deal with my insurance.My last DME tried to bill my insurance 1400 for a mask and two cushions.thank you

[Pugsy]

We might be able to name several but that doesn't mean that your insurance has a contract with them and thus they might not be able to supply you anything and bill your insurance.

You need to get a list of suppliers in your area that have contracts with your insurance.

And just because the DME bills out a pie in the sky amount for something doesn't mean that amount gets approved and if they have a contract with an insurance company they have to accept whatever amount the insurance company approves and be happy about it and write off the excess.

[LSAT]

Can any one recommend a dme supplier for the pacific northwest.One that will deal with my insurance.My last DME tried to bill my insurance 1400 for a mask and two cushions.thank you

The DME can bill anything they want but the insurance company has pre negotiated prices....when you get your Explanation of Benefits from your insurance company, you will see that they only paid about 10-15% of what was billed. You may find this procedure regardless of what DME you use.

[SewTired]

Can any one recommend a dme supplier for the pacific northwest.One that will deal with my insurance.My last DME tried to bill my insurance 1400 for a mask and two cushions.thank you

You need to contact your insurance company to find out who they have contracted with. It varies not only by insurance company, but sometimes by policy as well. Even better, ask your insurance company if you can buy outright and get reimbursed. Then get your supplies from an online vendor.

[Muse-Inc]

Call your insurance and ask for help/information. I buy from our host cpap.com and occasionally Amazon...out of pocket.

[sginflorida]

Can anyone recommend an unbiased, reliable source for cpap equipment replacement schedules? Virtually all such information now comes from vendors - an obvious conflict of interest. For example, hose replacements are recommended annually or even more frequently, but in fact hoses almost never need to be replaced unless there is obvious damage or wear. This is like having the American Dairy Council (or whatever the correct name is) be the official source for recommendations on how much milk to drink.

[realshelby]

You won't find a source with information that is not from a vendor or DME I wouldn't think.

Simply because there is not a set amount of uses for any of these products. Too many here have used hoses for literally years. Too many use pillows for months on end with no negative results.

Learn how to take care of your equipment. How to clean it and inspect it ( inspecting it should be part of the cleaning process ).

Keep a spare mask and cushion/pillows.

[Pugsy]

The vendors all use what the insurance companies offer as acceptable replacement allowance schedules.
Because that's how they make money...selling you stuff as often as insurance will pay for it whether you really need it or not.
How the insurance companies came up with the schedule...most adopted Medicare's allowance schedule just to save them the work of coming up with their own...and Medicare isn't known for being free with their money. Quite the opposite.
How Medicare came up with their schedule...anybody's guess...we all know how the government works sometimes. They don't seem to have an abundance of common sense.

I have never seen any other replacement schedule from anyone other than what insurance will pay....this is where we get to use our own common sense and decide if we need something replaced or not.

Can anyone recommend an unbiased, reliable source for cpap equipment replacement schedules? Virtually all such information now comes from vendors - an obvious conflict of interest. For example, hose replacements are recommended annually or even more frequently, but in fact hoses almost never need to be replaced unless there is obvious damage or wear. This is like having the American Dairy Council (or whatever the correct name is) be the official source for recommendations on how much milk to drink.

[palerider]

Can anyone recommend an unbiased, reliable source for cpap equipment replacement schedules? Virtually all such information now comes from vendors - an obvious conflict of interest. For example, hose replacements are recommended annually or even more frequently, but in fact hoses almost never need to be replaced unless there is obvious damage or wear. .

Replacement "schedules" are just designed to sap your money from you, purely created by greedy, dishonest DMEs to pad their profits.

Medicare came up with a maximum replacement frequency list, just saying "we aren't going to pay for these any more often than x days, weeks, months." And the greedy DMEs seized on that as a way to increase profits.

There's really nothing that legitimately "needs" to be replaced on any schedule.

Filters? When they're dirty.

Cushions? When they tear or leak too much.

Hoses? If the leak or the ends won't hold on the mask/machine any more.

Tanks, if they leak.