Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How to Replace Your CPAP in Only 666 Days

aphyr.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 273 posts

Re: How to Replace Your CPAP in Only 666 Days

#101

Post by methou »

jawngee wrote: post #39

Yeah try importing a CPAP from the states into Vietnam if you want a real adventure. A $650 cpap machine costs well over $2K here. So I thought I'd import one. Apparently you need a prescription in the states? Ok, get a "prescription" from an online service that basically just asks you if you snore over a video call. Amazing. Buy machine and have it sent to a freight forwarding service. They fuck up the paperwork. It…

I had a similar experience but in Japan.

My CPAP machine was held by customs, they asked me to provide some extra paperwork from another department, which boiles down to a form and a "prescription". Fortunately they accept american prescriptions. I emailed all of the docs to the department, and they told me since I'm physically in Japan, I have to do what Japanese would do - send a physical mail in an envolope. A week later I got the approval mailed back to me, scanned them and emailed them back to the customs, they released my package.

Then, the shipper messed up with my address, they use a local partner for delivery, but failed to pass them my phone number and the second line in my address. Apparently the poor delivery guy attempted to deliver for a week, I found it out in the tracking page, called the customer service, they figured out and eventually have it delivered.

I thought it was terrible, but now.

Re: How to Replace Your CPAP in Only 666 Days

#102

Post by hnlmorg »

klabetron wrote: post #19
verytrivial wrote: post #16

You can now understand why the UK is holding on the its NHS with white knuckles despite the Conservative push to dissolve it by stealth.

Though it’d probably take 666 days to see a sleep specialist and get your first CPAP machine… (which I suspect you’d agree is part of the stealth dissolution plan)

My sleep apnea went from initial visit to an NHS GP to a working CPAP machine in under 3 months.

This includes multiple consultations with sleep specialists and zero chasing from me.

Re: How to Replace Your CPAP in Only 666 Days

#103

Post by j16sdiz »

dangus wrote: post #88
thfuran wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>pass a Constitutional amendment allowing every human the unlimited and absolute right to buy, make, modify, and sell medical things including importing and exporting those items. I'm pretty sure I've never heard of a worse idea for a law. Removing any possibility of regulating the quality or efficacy of medicines and medical devices will injure and kill far more people than any resulting improved access would help.

Funnily enough, we have a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to own machines that are designed with the singular purpose of killing people. How could a “medical device second amendment” be worse?

People owns and uses a gun know what can be done with it.

People uses faulty medical device, however....

Re: How to Replace Your CPAP in Only 666 Days

#104

Post by ericjmorey »

dralley wrote: post #85
robmccoll wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have terrible news about systems built on private health insurance (USA): it will still take 666 days to see a specialist, and you will need a referral from your PCP who may also decide they want to see you in person first. This may be its own scheduling nightmare. Then you may find out that your preferred specialist is out of network for your private insurance. The waits are a generally a supply and demand issue m…

I've never had to wait more than a month to see a specialist in the US

Last month, I tried to make an appointment with an endocrinologist. The first one I called had the earliest availability in July. The earliest one I could schedule was in March. and it's an hour and 15 minutes away from my home.

Re: How to Replace Your CPAP in Only 666 Days

#105

Post by coldtea »

jawngee wrote: post #39

Yeah try importing a CPAP from the states into Vietnam if you want a real adventure. A $650 cpap machine costs well over $2K here. So I thought I'd import one. Apparently you need a prescription in the states? Ok, get a "prescription" from an online service that basically just asks you if you snore over a video call. Amazing. Buy machine and have it sent to a freight forwarding service. They fuck up the paperwork. It…

>Go down to customs once a week to argue with the guy. One week you can't have it because it looks used. It doesn't look used. Next week you can't have it because they think I'm importing to resell it.

Cousin Eddie: I'm real glad that things are going good for you, Clark.

Clark: Mm-hm.

Cousin Eddie: I got laid off when they closed that asbestos factory.

Clark: Ahem.

Cousin Eddie: And now, wouldn't you know it... ...the Army cut my disability pension... ...because they said the plate in my head wasn't big enough.

Clark: Shoo.

Catherine: Eddie, Clark and Ellen don't want to hear about our troubles.

Clark: No, no. It's very interesting.

Aunt Edna: Why don't you just ask him for the money, Eddie? He sure as hell can't take a hint.

Re: How to Replace Your CPAP in Only 666 Days

#106

Post by bhoops »

Why dont you just ask someone coming from India to get you one ? They are available over the counter in India and there are a lot of Indian people hopping on a flight to the US all the time. I am sure there is someone in your office you can request, or someone in your locality.

Re: How to Replace Your CPAP in Only 666 Days

#108

Post by londons_explore »

genocidicbunny wrote: post #41
londons_explore wrote: post #33

Please folks remember that it isn't compulsory to use a companies byzantine process. Instead, check your insurance policy wording that you are covered, spend the money on a new machine, send a single letter to the insurer asking to be reimbursed, and when they don't reimburse within 30 days file in small claims court. They'll pay. They don't want to physically show up in court or have you send bailiffs to their HQ ov…

Unfortunate that you cannot get additional damages against them. That sort of behaviour really needs to be heavily punished -- say, forcing them to cover every single CPAP prescribed for the next year for free, with the executives having to personally pay if the company can't afford to. Byzantine processes when dealing with medical issues should be punished with Byzantine punishments.

In most places you can at least get back the court fees (which are typically a few hundred bucks).

Unfortunately sometimes you can't get back the court fees, and in situations like that, rather than spending $3000 on some new medical gear and battling insurance I would be very tempted to go to eBay, buy it 2nd hand from someone for $150, and just use that. Better time/effort/money/result tradeoff IMO.

Post reply on HN