Any reviews on Community Surgical DME?

[DanceDiva26]

I transitioned to Medicare in July - top of the list of approved DMEs are 1) American Home Patient; 2) Apria; 3) Lincare

I've read enough on this board to know the general consensus of opinion on those three.
DASCO is also on the list but I know from prior experience that they flat out would not supply an AS 10 AutoSet so if they're self-limiting, l'll not even bother.

I found a few good reviews of Community Surgical Supply of Toms River, N.J. on the forum, but they're old. At the very least there weren't a slew of negative ones (altho' quite a few on Yelp). There's a local office.

Has anyone dealt with them relatively recently? I currently have 2 newer machines and have backups of everything but would need to start up a new account for future supplies only.

Thanks!

[Goofproof]

I use Lincare, I know bad rep, they are all bad. I have good secondary ins, been with them 12 years, using O2 compressor too. I can live with them. Jim

[Okie bipap]

When I started looking for a new DME, I looked at the Medicare approved suppliers in my area, and way down at the bottom of the list, I found on-line DMEs that take Medicare. I am currently using one of them that also accepts Tricare for life, which is my secondary insurance. I went with them as they specialize in military and retired military. They have an agent located in the local area since we have multiple military installations in the state.

[svo]

...I am a current customer of them..I started with them in March 2016 and in my opimion they are great!!....they do not push you to place orders on replacement items and lately as a service (their lines get busy but you leave a message and they call you back with the same day) they have an automated system that calls you and asks you if you want to order the items that you are allowed by Medicare by pressing 1 for yes and 2 for no...I dont use that sytem since it includes items that I do not think are needed that often and I have an issue with waste....I call them, the ladies are great and place your orders on what you need..they delivered the equipment to my house and installed it and gave me a brief trainning session....very happy...good service (even with accounting, a couple of times due to timing of payments of my supplemental insurance they generated a bill, called them and issues resolved in an instant)...highly recommended!!!!! ....

[QueSera]

I use Community Surgical and have found them to be adequate. They aren't jerks, which is good. Their customer service has been helpful. The biggest issue I've had with them is that they are always behind when it comes to new products. For example, when I was changing to the Dreamwear, they could only get me the fit-pack, which had a medium frame (I needed a small). I was switched to Apria for this item only, and oh boy, did Apria make me appreciate Community more! Community now gets me what I need, so that problem is in the past. I'm not looking forward to leaving them when Medicare hits me in January, if that comes to be.

BTW, when I started, I went to their Linden office to pick up my AirSense 10 rather than wait a week or two and have them come to my house. The respiratory therapist I've worked with there is older and perhaps not as up on the newest masks (since they don't stock them right away) but he was very nice, very experienced, and was willing to work with me.

[DanceDiva26]

Thanks all for the replies. When people are unhappy with a product or service, they come out quickly in droves to register complaints. That didn't happen here, and 2 people were even willing to offer up their positive experiences! That's reassuring to hear that good business can be possible with Community Surgical. So, a roll-of-the-dice and I guess I'll go against the grain and pick the devil-I-don't-know rather than the devil I do know about. (Apria and Lincare).

Honestly, the reps from Apria and Lincare sounded as if they'd just arisen from an opiate induced stupor. Might've just been a bad day for them. However, at least the reps from Community actually indulged in a question and answer session. Will send my paperwork out to them tomorrow.

Continued good luck to you Que Sera and SVO with Community Surgical! Hope I have the same!

[chunkyfrog]

I wish you both well.
It is enough we all have to deal with apnea--bad service should not be a "given".

[ChicagoGranny]

I know from prior experience that they flat out would not supply an AS 10 AutoSet

If the doctor specifies this on your script, by regulation the DME cannot fill the script with any other machine.

[MaryLand]

I initially had a little trouble with them. I asked my doctor to write the script for Airsense 10 Autoset for Her, and their website said they had this one in stock. (I had to call 14 DMEs listed in my plan to find one that had it. The others were all telling me I would just get whatever they gave me.) Then, all of a sudden, they were trying to tell me they were not in my network. WTF?? I called my insurer back who assured me they were. I called Community Surgical back, and they insisted they weren't. Then I got the story that they were in network for other medical supplies but that they "lost their contract" with the insurer to provide CPAP equipment and supplies. Called the insurer back -- and a very helpful CS rep got me on a 3-way call with them, where they backpedaled quickly and claimed it was just a "miscommunication." I think they weren't going to make enough of a profit on this model, and that's why I got the run-around. But since then (5 months) it seems to be okay. I get robo-calls for supplies, which I ignore because it's all or nothing on the re-order. If I need something but not everything, I'll call them back and just request what I want. They sent the wrong size P10 pillows initially, but returning them was not a problem and they promptly shipped the replacement.