Back in 2011 I did a sleep study and then got a CPAP in December 2011. It broke around 2018 or so and I got a loaner for a week or two while it was repaired. (The hinge on the lid had broken so it did not stay closed properly.) Just to be clear, my CPAP from 2011 was repaired around 2018, not replaced…
Jump to March 2023 where the machine started showing an error message “Motor life exceeded, please contact service provider” so I got in touch with my doctor, who told me to get in touch with the department that handles CPAP machines, and they told me a replacement could take months and months, and even a loaner could take quite a while, but they said it should keep running for a while… hopefully.
After a month I got a phone call and they said our insurance company was not going to replace it. I explained again what was going on, they confirmed everything, and tried again. Eventually I got a letter from our insurance company saying “Claim Denied” or whatever. They let me appeal, where I explained that for 6 months it was displaying an error message and I was concerned it would fail at any moment. They asked if it was working properly and I said “I do not know. I am not an engineer versed in CPAP machines. I have no idea if it is working properly. It does turn on, air comes out of it, but I do not know if it is working properly or to capacity.” They sent me a letter saying “No” they would not replace it. Sigh…
My appointment with my sleep doctor rolled around (September) and I brought it along to show him it was knackered. He told me that if our insurance company would not replace it I could try CPAP.com for a discounted machine. I looked and discounted was still $500 or so for the machine and other equipment, so I put it on hold.
A month later I got a call from ResMed about supplies for the machine and I asked when they are typically replaced. The told me that typically insurance companies provide a replacement after 5 years. They said some will do 3 years, some as long as 7. If you’re keeping track mine was 12 years old at this point. WTF…
December rolls around and my employer tells me that we’ll have a Heath Reimbursement Agreement starting in 2024. I’m on my partner’s insurance so I didn’t know what that even meant for me. well, what it meant was I could use funds from my employer to replace my knackered CPAP machine!
So yeah, I got a new CPAP machine, but not after going back and forth with my doctor, CPAP.com and myself in the middle There were some weird issues with my prescription, but we got it all sorted. I had to do the settings myself using the hidden menu option on the machine (by holding down the dial and the Home button until the service menu appears!) And there are a lot of improvements on this model compared to the one I’ve had for 12 years so that’s cool.
Okay, so the short version is, my CPAP was 12 years old, my insurance company would not replace it, I managed to get my own. Yay.
Maybe I’ll return to posting my Sleep Reports soon.
