How to deal with Apria-they are not providing my sister with her CPAP

[Evpraxia]

OK folks,
What is the best way to deal with Apria? My sister was diagnosed with sleep apnea one WEEK before I was diagnosed. Her sleep study was around Aug 12th and mine was Aug 18th. She is on Group Health in the Seattle/Tacoma area and her Dr HAS written the prescription for the CPAP. My sister does not know the pressure numbers at this time.

Apria STILL has not contacted her to arrange for her to get her CPAP.

I suggested that she tell them she will buy a CPAP from Craigslist (got the idea from another post on this board) to see if THAT will light a fire under them. I also suggested daily phone calls until she gets her CPAP.

In the meantime, if Apria continues to drag their feet, I plan to send my hubby's old CPAP, "the brick" (which I used for about 3 weeks until my CPAP came in) to her so she can have SOMETHING.

Open to other ideas.

[Galactus]

Asking me? I'm up late.... Find their office locally, where you would be picking up the machine, go there, tell them nicely you don't plan on leaving till they get you the machine, and ask what the hold up is. Calling corporate has been a waste (I have them) but the local offices have been great in helping. And a person to person visit is always nice. Let them know you can reach out and touch them

[me50]

find another supplier. and she needs to be prepared for them to ask her for a debit or credit card or they won't give her the machine (that is the way it was at the end of last year with Crapria and I bet they haven't changed that). I would not do this, especially with Apria as they bill for items not received and drag their feet or never issue the credit to the insurance company.

her best bet is to find another supplier.

[Paralel]

I find the threat of never-ending unholy violence usually works. You just have to really sell it.

[Galactus]

find another supplier. and she needs to be prepared for them to ask her for a debit or credit card or they won't give her the machine (that is the way it was at the end of last year with Crapria and I bet they haven't changed that). I would not do this, especially with Apria as they bill for items not received and drag their feet or never issue the credit to the insurance company.

her best bet is to find another supplier.

They tried that CC thing with me too. I said NO. I meant NO. And every time I place an order they ask, and I say NO. Because just ask the guys in college these days and they will tell you NO means NO!

BTW- All of this aside, my local Apria people are great to me. Even the phone people have been nice. Just the CC thing irks me. I will add it to my list for next week though as I am out of irks for this week already.

And just as a point of reference I drove from my sleep study to my local Apria, and they had my unit the very next day ready and waiting for me, and they even fitted my mask, talked to me, and explained things to me. I was quite surprised based on what I had heard.

[me50]

Galactus you are fortunate. it isn't that way here. they won't let you try on a mask so you have to pick one and hope for the best. If you return it, even if unopened, they forget you returned it and bill the insurance company anyway and they do the same thing even if you cancelled the order or didn't accept the shipment. Crapria has a huge problem with their billing department and my insurance company said they were working with Crapria to do a better job. It has been 9 months or longer and still Crapria has not issued all the credits to my insurance company.

When I went to get my machine, they pulled that credit card thing on me and I said nope, not going to do that. they said I couldn't have the machine without giving them a credit card (and my insurance paid 100% which crapria verified). I got up to walk out and then they changed their mind and gave me the machine. problem was, they continued to make billing errors and the local office made a lot of mistakes as well and I had it and I returned the machine and walked away.

I have heard so many horror stories in all different states that I am almost shocked to hear that you had a good experience with crapria. it is the first one I have heard about that was not a complaint.

[archangle]

Call up the insurance company and find out if there are other DME's who are in network for your insurance. Avoid Apria and Lincare if at all possible.

Don't give them your credit card. Just tell them you don't have a credit card, you don't believe in them.

Also be sure that Apria actually has the order for the CPAP from your doctor. Get a copy of your prescription from the doctor in any case. You really need to have that even if you have already gotten your CPAP, in case you ever need to get a replacement in a hurry.

If you are unfortunate enough to have already given them your credit card, follow the legal procedures and file a formal, written, dispute with your credit card company for every incorrect bill from your DME. Credit card companies hate disputes and if enough people complain about a merchant, they will twist their arm, fine them, and raise the rate they charge to that merchant.

[Paralel]

...just ask the guys in college these days and they will tell you NO means NO!...

True, unless she's really hot, then she is welcome to do whatever she wants to my body regardless of what I say because I'm obviously not capable of making a reasonable decision at that point if I'm saying no.

[bwexler]

Get a copy of the prescription and the sleep study.
Call the insurance and determine if they have received the RX, approved the RX, and notified Apria of the approval. Get a copy of the approval letter from the insurance company.
Walk into the loacal Apria with a copy of the RX and approval leter and ask for your equipment. Come early, pack a lunch, expect to stay late. Everytime someone walks in the door, make a point of mentioning to the receptionist how long you have been waiting, so the next person can hear.
If the waiting area is crowded, make a very loud point of how long you have been waiting every 10 or 15 minutes.
The squeeky wheel gets the grease.

[Evpraxia]

Get a copy of the prescription and the sleep study.
Call the insurance and determine if they have received the RX, approved the RX, and notified Apria of the approval. Get a copy of the approval letter from the insurance company.
Walk into the loacal Apria with a copy of the RX and approval leter and ask for your equipment. Come early, pack a lunch, expect to stay late. Everytime someone walks in the door, make a point of mentioning to the receptionist how long you have been waiting, so the next person can hear.
If the waiting area is crowded, make a very loud point of how long you have been waiting every 10 or 15 minutes.
The squeeky wheel gets the grease.

Since my sister has not joined this board (she is too foggy brained at this point) I copied this and other ideas and sent them to her. I will find out later today how things are going.