Apria or Lincare?

[anonEmouse2004]

So, my Medicare Advantage insurance will allow me to use either Apria or Lincare as my supplier. Apria is what I've used previously, but I can't say I like everything about them. I have no experience with Lincare at all. Is there any consensus regarding a preference? I know and expect the replies will be mixed. So, what have your experiences been like with Apria or Lincare

[eplantz]

I use LINCARE… for the past 5 years. Only for quarterly supplies. no issues at all.

[anonEmouse2004]

Thanks for the response.

[SuperSleeper]

I think both companies have their "issues", but from what I've heard from a lot of folks, they refer to the one as "Crapria" for a reason.

Just sayin'...

[anonEmouse2004]

I think both companies have their "issues", but from what I've heard from a lot of folks, they refer to the one as "Crapria" for a reason.

Just sayin'...

Lol, kinda where I was going myself. They were the ones my insurance set me up with back in 2007 when I was diagnosed. Wasn't impressed at the time, but what did I know, right? The last dealings I had was back in 2011 when my first machine failed under warranty and they replaced it with the one that recently died. Today was my second call with Apria recently and wasn't impressed. The guy sounded East Indian and kept saying MY phone line was bad because he couldn't understand me. After a while I thanked him for his time and hung up, not completing the conversation. I then called Lincare and some gal in Florida answered. I got more information from her in 10-minutes on how to proceed than I ever have from Apria. So, unless I get new information before hand I'll probably go with Lincare. I think...

[Sleeprider]

Apria / crapria has always had a lot of bureaucracy, but generally the local staff was pretty good. Back when you and I first started CPAP, the call center was in Sacramento, CA. It wasn't bad, but a lot of billing complaints. I think the current call center duties are now outsourced to India and the Philippines. You get what you pay for, and off-shoring the first-line support is just a terrible idea.

Lincare is a huge organization, but at least the call support is still in Florida, and the corporate leadership is known to intervene when local offices service is below par. So, you feel like you're talking to people that understand you, and the company is more responsive to complaints.

If you read Glassdoor, which is employee reviews of both companies, both have their detractors, but Lincare is not totally demoralized.

[SarcasticDave94]

I currently have Apria as my DME. Lincare is also available in the same nearby city as Apria. Corporate level Apria is a mixed customer experience, ranging IMO from bad to OK. Locally, they aren't bad to deal with in the office, but ease of contact cooled off after my new customer status wore out.

No doubt there are better DMEs than these 2, but in my area they are the only ones except my original DME called CPO2 which is connected to uh...sorry forgot who.

[ColoradoMom]

I don't have much experience with Apria, but my recommendation is not to use Lincare. Dealing with Lincare has been an absolute nightmare. It took over a month and a half from the time Lincare received my son's prescription to get his CPAP machine. Once we finally got his machine it took 6 more months for us to get any supplies. My insurance covers 100% of DME supplies yet a couple of months after receiving the machine Lincare sent me a bill for over $800. We are now 10 months in we are finally receiving supplies, but billing issues have yet to be resolved. One example of the numerous errors Lincare has made with our account is couple of months ago Lincare sent me a check refunding $200 I never paid them and 2 days later I received a bill for $600 I didn't owe them. Both my local Lincare office and Lincare's national offices in my experience are completely incompetent.

[LookingForward]

Two years ago I went with Apria and ended up returning the machine. This summer I went with Lincare. It did take 6 weeks to get the machine but I still prefer to work with them and keep them as my DME over Apria. But everyone's experience is different. I just recently got a call that it was time to reorder the filters and the silicone nasal replacement piece for my mask. Since I've purchased other masks this month to try to find the one that works best for me, I'm not in a big hurry to receive the supplies. But I'm watching to see how long it takes from the day I ordered to when I receive it. Even if it's slow, I'm not interested in going back to Apria.

[Walla Walla]

I don't know what machines Apria uses but I know the local Lincare uses Resmed AirSense 10 Autosets. Resmed is the machine you want.