DME Advice Sought

[atab]

Tomorrow I have an appointment with DME. They will fit a mask and hand-in a new CPAP. My doctor has written Resmed AirSense 10 autoset or Respironics autoset. When I called they said the charge is $1241.00 for either one. They did not tell me what I am getting. Person who talked to me said she does not know. Can I insist on getting the Resmed machine tomorrow?
By the way, I am using Mirage FX Nasal mask. It leaks and not so comfortable. How do I select a different mask?

[BlackSpinner]

If you are paying out of pocket it is your call.

Call around for other pricing and check with your insurance if they are involved.

If one of the DME employees says it is raining, walk out side and verify it for truth.

Check our host cpap.com for pricing to compare.

[palerider]

Tomorrow I have an appointment with DME. They will fit a mask and hand-in a new CPAP. My doctor has written Resmed AirSense 10 autoset or Respironics autoset. When I called they said the charge is $1241.00 for either one. They did not tell me what I am getting. Person who talked to me said she does not know. Can I insist on getting the Resmed machine tomorrow?

well, technically, there's no such thing as a respironics autoset. respironics auto, yes.

except in very limited circumstances, you don't *HAVE* to take anything... it'd be like walking into the car dealership and the salesman says 'you're buying that car" no matter what you actually want.

and, are you saying they're charging YOU 1241$? because you can buy either one for a lot less online.

[chunkyfrog]

Believe it or not, if you are paying out of pocket, you will be miles ahead just walking out.

[Guest]

Re: DME Advice Sought:
You don't say if your cpap is broken or if you are using insurance or if you can use another DME. You don't mention the name of this DME either but did say

Tomorrow I have an appointment with DME. ... They did not tell me what I am getting. Person who talked to me said she does not know.

The " she does not know" part would make me nervous and sounds very suspicious to me. They don't know what they have on hand? Tomorrow is not that far away.

That said approach this place with caution, both eyes and ears wide open, and be prepared to leave without anything if they won't give you what you want. They will ask you to sign plenty of paperwork be sure to take your time and read each word, if they seem pushy ask to take the papers home so you can read it at your leisure and w/o any pressure. Mark and write down any questions you have and be sure to write down the names of those providing answers and what the answers are.

Be thorough or you will wish you were later.

Bring a pen and a notebook to write in. Write any questions you have before you leave the house.

How do I select a different mask?

This can be another sticking point. If they are not flexible here and won't give you what you want I wouldn't do any business with them, period. After all, this is where you will be getting all of your future supplies, right? Before signing any papers do ask about their mask change policy. Mask manufacturers far and wide allow 30 days to swap out any mask that is not working for anyone, period.

There is no charge to the DME all they have to do is fill out the paperwork. If they are not willing to help you are you willing to give them your money?

Keep in mind DME's have no interest in you, only your money and if they won't give you what you want or make it difficult saying things like the order has to say this to get this cpap tell them it doesn't say you must get this other machine either.

[atab]

Thank you all for valuable comments.

About paying for the machine; it turns out my insurance pays about $400 and the rest goes to my deductible. Being end of the year, deductible is essentially paying out of pocket.

J&L said it will be $1241 for either CPAP. This charge is for CPAP, headgear and mask (and service). I guess that is what insurance allows. I don't have a strong preference between Resmed AirSense 10 Autoset and Respironics dreamstation. Don't have experience with either on of them. But I think Resmed is more expensive (at least on retail market). I don't see any incentive for J&L to give me the more expensive one.

[Pugsy]

The DME likely will/would have stocked the brand that they got a better wholesale price on for buying in bulk.
So the higher retail price for the ResMed may or may not even be a factor. My DME has switched from ResMed to Respironics and now back to ResMed in the past 7 years....it all depends on which brand they get a better wholesale deal with. Now they would order something else for me but when a specific brand or model isn't specified then they dispense the brand they normally keep in stock. Your DME may or may not even keep an inventory of machines.

You probably would be dollars ahead to buy your machine online and use your DME for masks so that you can utilize any mask swapping policy they might have (be sure to ask what their policy is) since you apparently haven't met your deductible yet and unless you think there is some chance of meeting it in the next couple of months then you might just want to save a few dollars and buy out of pocket for the machine anyway. The mask now might be a different story unless you know for sure the mask that will work well for you.
You don't have to buy a machine from a DME to be able to buy masks from them.

[Pugsy]

Do you know what pressure you will be using? If higher pressures are going to be used I think that ResMed's exhale relief might work a little better than Respironics...IMHO.

For masks...there are better nasal masks out there than the Mirage FX....was this one the only one you have tried or did you try others? If so what others?

Mask manufacturers offer 30 day return policy on all masks. DMEs will tell you that your insurance only pays/allows one within whatever time frame but in truth the mask manufacturers will let you try other masks and the DME only has to do a little paperwork to get credit for a mask that they supply you that you end up hating.
The problem is most DMEs don't want to do the paperwork so they tell you that you can only get 1 swap within the first 30 days or whatever they make up as their own in house rules for mask swapping. They can make their own rules...it's allowed. It stinks but it's allowed.

If this chosen DME doesn't have a generous mask swapping policy...consider buying a mask online that has free return insurance from cpap.com. That way you have 30 days to get it back to them if you hate it and get your money back.
Now not all masks have free return insurance...some have insurance you have to pay for but even that is cheaper than eating the entire cost of a mask that you end up hating.
Besides...there's enough that offer free return insurance that you have a wide selection available.

[Guest]

About paying for the machine; it turns out my insurance pays about $400 and the rest goes to my deductible. Being end of the year, deductible is essentially paying out of pocket.

Keep in mind your deductible will renew itself in Jan. You should figure this into the math costs and if possible can you to hold off until Jan.?

I don't see any incentive for J&L to give me the more expensive one.

They will lead you to the one "they" will make the most money on. It has absolutely nothing to do with retail pricing.

Not sure if there is a healthcomplexmedical supplier near you.

[atab]

Thanks for reminding the 30 day trial on mask. I will ask (insist) them. I have been using the current mask for about 2 years. (out of country). So haven't look at any newer ones. Do you have any suggestions on what masks I should look at?

I have been on current CPAP (S8) for about 10 years. Forgot how I dealt with that DME (different one). But I told my doctor I need S8 (thanks to this forum), if I remember correct she wrote that on the prescription.

[Janknitz]

I guess that is what insurance allows

Most famous last words around here. The DME is going to see a great big "SUCKER" sign taped to your forehead. I hope you paid attention to the posters above. And see my blog post "What you need to know BEFORE you meet your DME". Thing number one you need to know is what your insurance allows. Never, never, never, ever, ever, EVER take the dme's word for anything.

[Pugsy]

It's hard for me to suggest a nasal mask for you to try because I really don't have all that much experience with them. Plus I don't know what your needs and preferences are but I was just going on what you said about the mask which leads me to believe you aren't so happy with it.

I am using Mirage FX Nasal mask. It leaks and not so comfortable.

There are quite a few new masks out there in all the mask categories and not just the nasal cushion mask with is what the Mirage FX is.
If you want to stay with the nasal cushion I would suggest looking at the Swift FX Nano. It's really the only nasal cushion mask that I have bothered to even try for more than a few minutes...so we are going on my own personal opinion here (and I am super tough to please ).

Or look at the Respironics new DreamWear mask with its cradle cushion. I have tried it also and it's a pretty nice little mask and liked it well enough to keep it just in case.

Take stock of what it is about the Mirage FX that bugs you...headgear...how it feels on the face...leaks...and then start looking at other masks that might resolve whatever it is that bugs you about the current mask.

What I do well with...there's no guarantee that you will do well with it but it's about all we can offer when we suggest masks because that's all we know. We know our own needs and preferences but my needs and preferences may or may not be the same as yours. Masks all come with a really big YMMV sticker.
I have a preference about "stuff on my face and head" so I always lean towards masks with minimal headgear and minimal footprint on my face. That means that sometimes I sacrifice stability a little with the minimal headgear but to me the minimal headgear is more important than having a few leaks because leaks rarely wake me up.
You might be just the opposite and wake up from the tiniest of leaks so stability might be more important to you than to me.

In general these newer masks are an improvement over some of the "older" models that have been around for many years. The mask manufacturers are continually trying to improve on most of the common issues that people had.
There have been some flops but most of the newer masks are better than the older models.IMHO

[grayghost4]

I have several for sale : much better price also shipping included

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/hab/5822428122.html

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/hab/5789958898.html


Also some new Dreamstations and used machines

[amyfb]

It's hard for me to suggest a nasal mask for you to try because I really don't have all that much experience with them. Plus I don't know what your needs and preferences are but I was just going on what you said about the mask which leads me to believe you aren't so happy with it.

I am using Mirage FX Nasal mask. It leaks and not so comfortable.

Or look at the Respironics new DreamWear mask with its cradle cushion. I have tried it also and it's a pretty nice little mask and liked it well enough to keep it just in case.

---
this is the mask I have. I'm a newbie to the cpap world and have no other mask experience. I was dreading the elephant nose hookup and was so happy to discover there were alternatives!.

this is a really comfortable mask; like anything new it takes some getting used to and i still have to adjust it a little when i roll over during sleep.
the folks that designed it did a nice job wiht soft touch materials for everywhere it touches your body.

if you don't also need the mouth covered, i'd recommend giving this a shot.

[Guest]

There are two good deals there