Buy CPAP online in Canada

[addormentato]

My PBC claim has been rejected after a 5 week wait, big surprise, I so love insurance companies...  I need to buy my CPAP online in Canada, at least the timing is right for discounts.  I think my choice is between suppliers 32, 34 and 35 from the supplier list.  Number 34 has an amazing $600 sale for the machine, but the heated tubing is "optional"?  Price seems almost too low for comfort.  Can anyone provide any feedback on any of these sellers, or even recommend alternatives?  The Airsense 10 is the machine I've been using in my trial, it has been great and it was recommended on this forum over the 11 model, so I'm thinking to get: 

1. ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet with HumidAir & ClimateLineAir Heated Tubing
2. ResMed AirFit P30i Nasal Pillow Starter Pack

- I'm using Oscar, do all Airsense 10 Autoset have the SD card slot that my trial one has or is that an extra option? 
- Is all ClimateLineAir Heated Tubing created equal (same length, specs)?

Anything else you think I might be missing, feel free to chime in 

[G. Szabo]

I had a good experience with 
[DME Link Removed] Search for CPAPspecials
which is not on the list.

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Moderator Action: DME Link Removed

To maintain our status as an educational organization, links to DME-owned or DME-operated websites and links to pages that sell prescription-required items are prohibited in forum posts.  This is stated in the Apnea Board Rules.

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[TonyJ]

I just purchased a couple of masks from Air Voel recently even during the postal strike. Their prices were very good and the service was 5 star. Ordered on a Monday and received on Thursday via UPS. I believe their Black Friday sale continues through Monday. Google them and check it out. Prices are hard to beat. Example purchased ResMed P30i for $85 which normally is $154. The 2 machines you mentioned are on for under $900 in the sale.

[addormentato]

The price for the mask is indeed good, so good that you need to order more than one to get the $100 minimum for free shipping, otherwise it's $30 for shipping, which makes the price a little less special.  I ended up buying the AirSense 10 for $599 in one place, and the P30i starter package in another for a little more money, but with free shipping.  Time will tell...

[addormentato]

Having received both my orders (CPAP machine and masks) I thought I provided a little feedback on two Canadian suppliers on the list.  I hope this is not against the rules 

Supplier 34 was very responsive (emails were often replied to right away, or in an hour or two).  The AirSense 10 autoset (600 CAD free shipping, amazing price) was ordered on a Friday, and it shipped on Monday.  It took one week to arrive, as ground shipping was the only option available.  AFAICT the machine is fine, I just replicated all setting from my trial one.  The only difference I can see is that the water reservoir is shaped a little differently, with a circular metal part at the bottom instead of rectangular, and quite a bit harder to open than the old one.  

Supplier 35 was less responsive.  Even though the masks (P30i and N30i) were supposedly in stock, I waited 10 days just to get a tracking number - 12 days to see the item actually starting to move.  I wrote two emails inquiring why this was taking so long, and got canned responses to the effect we are so busy, so many orders, just be patient...  I understand busy, but 10 days just to ship (also ground, which took another week) seems like a lot.

In fairness, Canada Post had been on strike until today, so there might have been extra pressure on the shipping side

[Rickyricardo]

Are you in Ontario and eligible for the ADP (assistive devices program)? Well if you are in Ontario on OHIP every one is entitled to ADP if you have a prescription from a sleep doctor. Outside of Ontario, I don't know if or by how much the provincial medicare subsidizes the devices.

The big name brand supplier with the several retail stores sells autoset AS10 or AS11 with tank and slim tubing for basically $600 after the ADP contribution. They charge $165 as a dispensing fee so I am getting the vibe like pharmacies, they are not allowed to mark up the cost of the device. 

If you signed a form to allow an ADP claim you got the same retail price as from a non-mail order only supplier. If it was $600 without ADP because you don't have OHIP (public health) or a prescription acceptable to ADP, then $600 out of pocket is a low price. Because it could mean it could cost as little as $200 for someone who has ADP and a proper prescription, because ADP pays $415 of the price..

S10 were all $400 more expensive before covid, and IIRC the ADP grant was more like $600 but you were out of pocket more in 2019 than today on just the machine asking price and even after ADP. Around $1000 after the subsidy and now $600 after the subsidy.

The opening statement mentions PBC what is that? Private health insurance? I use SunLife and they can be specific about first time machine prescriptions calling for a sleep study, severe OSA diagnosis and a written prescription from a sleep specialist which usually means a hospital sleep clinic assessment and not an RX from a family doctor. Maybe private sleep clinics, the ones which are publicly paid in a private office building, but which do a proper polysomnography session in an observed setting.

They are very quick to pay though with the paperwork and approve in a day and pay subsequently overnight on replacement machines. Why did they deny and take so long to? 5 weeks to say no is a long time to say no. They will deny in days if the RX is not legit or the sleep study didn't happen. What was the to and fro for over a month?

[addormentato]

I'm in BC.  Sound like Ontario has a better deal with ADP.  The $600 were entirely out of pocket, and that was by far the cheapest price I could find at the time (black Friday).  Now prices seem to have a jumped a little higher.  I was going to buy a spare machine seeing how happy I am with the purchase, but now I'll probably wait for boxing day sales.  PBC = Pacific Blue Cross, an insurance provider that is very common here.  The company running the trial (Coastal Sleep) wanted around $2,800 for the AirSense 10 (and their continued monitoring / support), and the insurance was going to pay zero dollar of it.

[Rickyricardo]

Why did they turn down the claim? I use SunLife and their criteria is severe OSA and a signed prescription from an MD who is a sleep specialist and approved it in 24 hours. What did they do for 5 weeks?

$2,800 to me is about $1,000 too much so I guess the bunk advisory service is padding the bill a lot, so how much is just a machine and a proper mask?

Also check Kijiji.

I have used PAP in dry climates, well air conditioned rooms, humid poorly air conditioned rooms, non air conditioned rooms, summer and winter in Canada, USA, SE Asia and Central America, and I have never used the heated tubing. I'm not sure you are missing anything if it is not free (it's definitely not standard in the box).

[addormentato]

Mainly, PBC denied the claim because my sleep apnea has been designed (hospital sleep study) as "mild", though it is also "severe" when lying on my back OR in REM sleep - so many questions I have just about this diagnosis.  I should start a separate thread about them.

My GP did her best, pointing out my comorbidities: asthma, myasthenia Gravis and lately vasospastic angina.  Of course you can appeal their decision and wait longer with no guarantee that the final decision will be in your favour, but the CPAP machine has made the biggest difference in my we'll being than any medication, and with my trial running out, I didn't want to have to pay $2800 to subsidise what feels like a very cozy setup, as you pointed out.

I think that 2800 included the mask, so generous.  The machine I bought came with climate air tubing, or whatever is called, included in the price.   I had the same in my trial, saw no reason to change that.