Medicare replacement for recall?

[david987]

I was talking to my 81yr old dad who lives 1500 miles away and asked how his CPAP was going ( hes had it roughly 15yrs) - he said its not, he was told 7 month ago to stop using it due to the recall. he is waiting for a replacement which last he checked they told him MAYBE Sept or Oct is when they thought they would catch up on the rebuilds ( he still has his machine it was not sent back for a rebuild, was it suppose to be? )

My question is, since he is on medicare with close to 0 income is there any other way for him to get a machine through medicare or is there only the 1 supplier that he has been using?
If he got he DR to write another perscription, could he get on somewhere else through medicare or does he really have to go well over ayear without this device?
I dont know how medicare works, is there any possibility that if one was purchased he could get reimbursed to repay the loan? Are there other ways to get something quicker? Like most elderly hes afraid to make calls or give anyone a push.

[OpalRose]

If your dad has been using the same machine for over 15 years, he is well  
overdue for a replacement.  

Typically, Medicare will replace a machine after 5 years regardless of the recall.  If your father won't or can't check on this himself, then you will need to call Medicare for him.  Is there another family member close to him that you can enlist to do this?  

When you check with Medicare, you can ask for a list of suppliers/DME's they are
contracted with.  Does he have his original prescription? If not, you will also need to check with his doctor for a new one.

I know it was recommended by Phillips to stop using the cpaps, but I think it's far worse healthwise to be without for that long, especially for someone in their 80's.

You could buy out of pocket and submit to Medicare, but you should check with Medicare first.

There seems to be no reasoning on Phillips schedule of who receives replacements and when.

[Gideon]

I have not seen a Medicare specific recall procedure. For machine failures such as a blower failure the supplier (DME) must fix or replace the machine up to 5 years of age. That is part of the Medicare contract with suppliers.

Being over 5 years Medicare should replace the machine as Opal has stated.

Medicare, based on forum responses, appears to accept Phillips as the responsible party despite the up to 1 year wait specified. But your father's machine is old enough to be replaced.

When you advocate for him get on a 3 way call with your father so they can access his records on your day so.

Note: current delivery of CPAPs is months because of supply issues caused by the recall. You may need to call several DMEs to find one that has stock that can be shipped to him, they do not need to be local to him. Make sure the DME participate with Medicare. Accepts means they will take the Medicare money and charge him the difference of their full asking price. Check the terms out on the Medicare site.

[Helena]

My father's CPAP was seven years old and in the recall. The doctor wrote a prescription for a specific make and model of replacement. I had tried for months to get results from the medical supplier, and been put off by nurses and staff at the doctor's office.

In a video appt with the doctor, I told him the situation, and with the doctor's prescription and his phone call to the DME, we received a new machine in a few days from the same medical supplier who had been putting us off all the time. Medicare covered it.

[david987]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I'll look into this.