Sleep Apnea is a big stumbling block when getting work as a truck driver

My insurance requires either an annual or a bi-annual sleep study, I am on the bi-annual which I go through crap with any DOT physical.

Many insurance companies require on-going therapy and periodical sleep studies.

By the way my deductible is ZERO for all of it.

 

Isnt ongoing therapy what CPAP therapy is?...Ins pays again and then some

 

Of course the use of the machine itself is ongoing. What my insurance requires, to keep on doing their part on the supplies, is a visit to my sleep doc once a year. I take the machine in, he puts it on the computer and downloads the information off of it. He may, or may not want me to bring a recording pulse oximeter home for an overnight study. When I first started going to this one, he wanted me to come in every six months. After a couple of years, without any changes, I told him I'd come in once a year, and he agreed.

Now my supply company is a different thing. They either email or call me every three months with a "survey required by your insurance company." It is no more than a question and answer thing, my insurance DOES NOT require it, and it is just a thinly veiled advertisement to get me to buy more supplies.

Medicare will allow you two pillow cushions a month, and two air filters a month. They will allow you a complete new mask with headgear and pillow cushions every three months. What a total waste that is! I can see replacing the air filters a couple of times a month if you are in dusty conditions. But my face mask and head gear has seen a year or more of service. The headgear is just now beginning to lose it's elasticity and show it's age. The pillow cushions, if you clean them a couple or more times a week, they last much longer. Dawn and warm water is your friend with this. when you clean the reservoir and hose, and rest of mask, as they suggest on a weekly basis, using white vinegar one part, to three parts water and soaking for 20 minutes, then wash them in Dawn and warm water, and rinse thoroughly, they last a very long time.

 

I've only had mine since mid December, so I may have the latest in c-pap technology. Mine is an auto titration machine. That means it only gives you the amount of air you need at any given moment. It has a wifi connection, so the people at the sleep study place can monitor my progress. I also have an app on my phone that is tied to my c-pap machine that allows me to see how I'm doing on a daily basis.

 

It has a wifi connection, so the people at the sleep study place can monitor my progress. Sort of gives a whole new meaning to "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU! Honestly, I'm not sure exactly how I would feel about that.

Now have the app on your phone so you can monitor it yourself, does sound like a good deal!

 

I have one of the expensive bilevel bpaps, it had a wireless modem on it that insurance required for 1 year to make sure I kept compliant or they would not pay for it anymore but last year the modem was sent back in and wasnt needed anymore. The monthly payments on my machine was $309 a month for I guess just the year since I have not seen a statement in quite awhile.

 

If you were paying $309 a month for a year for your machine, I would say you paid for that all by yourself. I know we have 2 different kinds of machines, but I only paid $50 for mine and another $50 for the sleep study. At times in my career I've had the $100+ a week insurance that hardly paid for anything. I'm back to top tier insurance at no cost to me and they pay most of the bills. Good insurance needs to be figured into the equation when looking for a new job, especially when you get older.

 

no I wasnt paying the payments, the insurance was but they would send me the statements

 

A "real" sleep study... an in lab pig costs upwards of $1,500. If your insurance coverage pays go for it.

A home sleep study.... hst can be. $300.

Depends on who is paying.

 

I told my wife about what I've read on TTR, about the companies that set up a sleep study in a hotel room, and determine if you have sleep apnea from that. She said she'd never consider that a medical study, being a research nurse herself. To her, it's very unprofessional, and reeks of a money-making scheme. She just went to a sleep study; and last night was her first on a CPAP.