Boy, CPAP purchase looks like a scam
l just came away from my clinic with a new prescription in hand for a new machine and went to three different providers for the machine. In each case the basic Resmed machine is $645 but as soon as they discover it’s Government funded the price jumps to $860, but also I can’t just buy a new machine (I have everything else I need already, doing this for 10 years now) I have to buy the COMPLETE package at $1250. Then my Insurance has to pay the rest but only after I submit an assessment form to the Insurance company. CPAP sales have turned into the biggest scam in medicine here.
I’m absolutely disgusted.
RE: Boy, CPAP purchase looks like a scam
Look at the cpap suppliers list at the top you can get it from one of them for a regular price.
RE: Boy, CPAP purchase looks like a scam
Sniffles, for your next machine I hope you know exactly what you want, and get it. I gather that when you say the government is paying, you mean you have excellent public sector insurance. Remember the price of your CPAP and equipment is prenegotiated and is the same for any CPAP including the Autoset. That’s the one you want, and new tubing, mask, filter etc is SOP with a new machine.
If you were self-paying I’d send you to
Supplier #33, but if this is insured, just use the insurance and don’t worry about the “invoice”. The price is already settled. Enjoy. Be aware that your insurance may require extended warranties or services that cost more to provide, and it certainly requires more documentation and perhaps a more difficult approval process. All of this is out of your hands unless you want to pay out of pocket. Just get the best machine possible, and that would be the Airsense 10 Autoset. You ar not saving a dime by settling for a lesser machine when using insurance. The low-prices online could not be provided if they had to bill insurance.
RE: Boy, CPAP purchase looks like a scam
You are right. It is a scam. Even if you have insurance, ask how much you pay out of pocket. The DME told me that my new mask would be covered, but he didn't tell me that I still had to pay the deductible. The mask cost triple what I could have paid on line. Then I started getting robo-calls from the DME about supplies. I would rather pay reasonable prices for what I need than pay the deductible and get their ridiculous list of crap.
RE: Boy, CPAP purchase looks like a scam
In the end I found a provider in Toronto that had the best price and would handle the Government paid portion and then bill my Insurance for the rest. They handled it all. I didn’t pay anything out of pocket. I got what my Physician recommended, the Airsense10 Autoset with ClimateLine. As I had to get the whole shebang I went whole hog. It’s a wonderful machine.
RE: Boy, CPAP purchase looks like a scam
snuffles I figured you were from Ontario. So am I.
It's a big scam here for sure.
I didn't do as well as you. My sleep doc wouldn't write a script for an apap.
RE: Boy, CPAP purchase looks like a scam
I did great through the DME my doctor sent me to. Didn’t know anything about what I was doing or what machine I wanted. I didn’t even know there were different kinds of machines!
They gave me a Autoset 10, didn’t bill me for 6 months. I thought they’d forgotten about me but one day they called and said the evaluation was over, the provincial government (Ontario) had paid their share and I owed the rest, which was $340 I think. My insurance covered that.
I was half expecting they’d charge me way more because of the Phillips recall but they stuck to the price they’d originally mentioned in the spring.
Easy peasy. The lady at the DME ignores all my questions and didn’t even set the machine to what the doctor ordered until the 6 month point. Luckily I’m doing ok with the settings they have tried.
RE: Boy, CPAP purchase looks like a scam
My in-lab two night sleep study was covered 100%. No idea what it cost, but I have heard that they are very expensive.
Once that was done and over with, within a couple of days, I got a call telling me to come down and pick-up my CPAP machine. It was a ResMed AirSense 10 Autoset. It included an AirFit F20 mask, heated hose, and humidifier.
My out-of-pocket expense that day was something like $56.00 or so, and I had to pay I think, $6.00 per month for 13 months, before it was mine and mine alone.
All of my subsequent supplies were covered 100%. They still are, 3+ yrs. later.
