Help picking a DME

My insurance has changed and my choice of DME includes the following:

Aerocare
Aeroflow
Apria
Edgepark
Lincare/AHP (American Home Patient)
Rotech
US Med

I know every DME is a pain to work with, but has anyone had a good experience with any of these? Thanks,

I work with a local Mom & Pop DME....I would find out who is local so you can go in and talk to them before you make your decision.

I get my CGM supplies from Edgepark, (no choice) but their call center
is so far offshore, they barely speak English.

uvabigm wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 27, 2023 8:13 am

I know every DME is a pain to work with

Did you answer your own question?

I second the suggestion to use a local DME. There is one in my area that is very good. (Things started out rocky with their chief RT. But after some "training" by me, we have a great working relationship.)

I "third" the local suggestion. I will say that for me, AeroFlow is local-ISH...they are also in NC and have been helpful and responsive. So maybe an option if you can't find someone local to you?

Good luck!

uvabigm wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 27, 2023 8:13 am

My insurance has changed and my choice of DME includes the following:

Aerocare
Aeroflow
Apria
Edgepark
Lincare/AHP (American Home Patient)
Rotech
US Med

I know every DME is a pain to work with, but has anyone had a good experience with any of these? Thanks,

You didn't mention why your insurance changed but if possible I would change it again. Sounds like you may be in a Medicare Advantage plan?

I like the idea of a local dme but if that is not possible this is how I would handle it.
Strike out Rotech, Lincare (AHP), and Apria - I've heard it said if the name begins with an A to pass it by.

Then call each of the others, with notebook and pen in hand and ask dumb questions to see how they handle you. Of course you should also ask if they carry the mask and other supplies you want to see how they respond. Keep in mind this is not fool proof either as I have had them lie about those things also. But that is when you leave them behind and never look back.

Are these really the only DME's your insurance approves of?

Which insurance is this and where are you located?

For the past couple of years, I was using a local DME, mainly because they went out of their way to get the Bleep Mask for me, but about six months ago, when i wanted to reorder the Bleep, they said they determined they would no longer carry the Bleep . . .

Since then, I switched to AeroFlow for my mask, and kept my local DME for my other supplies, especially since the local DME was able to get me a new ResMed 11, in the quickest time compared to the several other DMEs (most of the DMEs had no hope of getting me a new resmed)

Initially it was difficult to speak to someone when I wanted assistance from AeroFlow, but they have recently improved in terms of being able to connect via phone calls.

In January, I tried to order heated hose, water chamber, etc from the local DME, it took a month to get my order fulfilled and then there was a billing issue I had to get resolved with them since they had given me a mask in October that I didn't want and it took a few months to get it refunded to medicare and the local DME recently Billed me for the mask which was returned in October and I had to Remind them that I had returned that mask in October).

When I was in California using Kaiser, I had Apria as my DME, and they were mostly ok with me, but often would send the wrong size on my masks and I would have to get the size corrected. There was a big problem when I had moved and switched out of using Apria, regarding an old cpap that had been replaced and when I inquired their respiratory therapist they said they didn't want the old CPAP and I got rid of it. BUT, suddenly after I moved and switched out of Apria, Apria wanted the old CPAP that I no longer had. Ugh- it took a few months to resolve, but I finally got the issue taken care of.

Ideally, I would have preferred to use a local DME that had both the machine and the mask available. I did a lot of calling of several DMEs this past August/September, to try to find that - Alas, most of the DMEs could not get the ResMed AutoSense and could not determine when they would have one in stock, and most of the
DMEs didn't offer the Bleep Mask.

My plan is that once the 13 months is completed for rental of my AirSense 11, I will switch to getting all my supplies from AeroFlow.

I went with online Versus for many years, but just two weeks ago got my first gear from a local. So far, so good with them. The previous two locals I had used had not a clue about CPAP gear, but that was 15 years ago. This new local will ship to me free as did the online one, and do all the insurance paperwork as did Verus.

Your doctor or net a search may find a local that your insurance will accept. Online Verus did well for years, never missed a shipment. They came every 3 months with my approval via an email notice.

If they can (read WILL) get what YOU want, then they want your business.
Otherwise, look elsewhere--and tell them so.