Apria Healthcare Reviews

A month after the BBB info had gotten straightened out Apria started again with a new collection agency. I've gone through the same things all the previous posts had described. My equipment is past the Rental Cap day of Medicare, which Apria doesn't acknowledge. I called them today to come pick the equipment up and they told me they can't without a doctor's order, which they never seem to fax to my doctor's office.

This company is a ripoff! I know now why insurance is so costly. This company is ripping them off for services the patient doesn't need and then lies to you when you question them. Now they are sending me collection notices for two months' rental on a machine I didn't want or need, and they wouldn't pick up. Because they say my insurance changed and I didn't let them know. I called my insurance company and they said I am not responsible for the charges. But they don't care they sent it to collections! APRIA is the worst company I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with!!!!

To summarize, an anxiety filled frustration, in three years we NEVER got the items within 5 days of when they were promised, and often it was a month or more. They would repeatedly lie about the status of the order. Once, we even had to drive to their warehouse to pick up the order. I hate that company with a passion.

Once I finally received the tubing, then Apria sent me a bill for $68.80. I paid that bill and yesterday I received an additional bill of $18.61. Someone called me about the $68.80 bill and had the nerve to say that I can set up a monthly payment option with them. What in the heck would I be paying for on an ongoing basis? My HMO is supposed to cover the expenses. If there was a one-time fee, they should have explained that to me. There is no reason for bills continuing to be sent to me.

Finally, I was so exasperated with Apria's lack of service and their greediness for money that I looked online and found tons of other testimonies where other customers had the exact same problem with them that I had. The customer is king... If you make the customer unhappy, your business will ultimately fail. I never want to deal with Apria again. Dealing with my sleep apnea may have helped my health, but thanks to Apria, I no longer choose to continue with the process.

I have a manufacturing background and the nose piece should cost pennies to manufacture and the hosing may be a bit more. Of course there needs to be an additional charge for handling and shipping but these prices are ridiculous. I emailed the company's contact info to ask for an explanation about a month ago and have not received a reply. Today, I spent an hour on the phone on hold or getting bounced from office to office without getting any good answer. The average US citizen spends about twice what the rest of the world does on healthcare - without getting superior health outcomes. This needs to be fixed.

I was charged twice by Apria - the first one was the correct amount - but then they charged me a second time without my permission. After speaking to them, they admitted it was THEIR fault. But they cannot credit my account back. They will have to put it through their system that can take 7-10 days or more. Totally unacceptable. I've spoken with supervisors and complaint department... No one seems to care. I will NOT be using Apria again.

In addition, when I needed supplies - I couldn't order them over the phone - I was required to make an appointment to go to the office. Waste of time, money and gas. They only had 1 out of 3 things they promised they would have there for me. So then someone had to call me a week or two later to order over the phone... This is how the charge was put on without my permission.

Customer Service with Apria is HORRIBLE!!! And they don't seem to care either. So if customers switch to another company, then maybe they will care.

I have, over the past thirty years, used copious amounts of topical steroids and, off and on, undergone light treatments. Most recently, I completed a series of UVB light treatments at Kaiser. The protocol is to stand in the UVB machine, much like a tanning bed, and through a series of visits the length of time within the machine is increased to a pre-determined maximum level. At the end of the protocol, the psoriasis patches are barely visible, but not gone. When the patches begin to appear again, it is time to restart the protocol. Suffice it to say, the light treatments at Kaiser worked. The dermatology staff was great. And, the cost was, well, expensive: $30 copay for each visit.

Knowing that I will never be fully rid of psoriasis, I inquired about UVB devices for home use... something that I have been aware of for quite some time. With the cost of the in-office visits, I decided I could probably just zap myself at home rather than spend the time and money to go to Kaiser.

I inquired of my dermatologist which UVB devices Kaiser recommends, and I was given a stack of literature for the Daavlin Company. My dermatologist emphasized that Kaiser does not endorse the Daavlin products, and that there were other manufacturers out there that would work, as well. Given the relatively small skin surface, 5%, where my psoriasis persisted, I studied the Daavlin material, went to their website and found the DermaPal device that I thought would be just perfect for my needs.

Through a series of text messages (the Daavlin site provided online "chat") I inquired about the DermaPal, and how I could initiate a purchase. I also asked about the cost of the unit and was told it sold for $620. I knew my Kaiser policy required a 20% copay, and I could certainly handle that. So, I faxed off my insurance data, a prescription letter from my doctor, and the ball began to roll for the purchase.

I was soon told that unfortunately a contract between Kaiser and Daavlin had not yet been finalized, but that Apria Healthcare did have a contract with Kaiser, and I could purchase the DermaPal through Apria with the understanding I would still have the 20% copay. I asked the Daavlin representative what the markup by Apria would be, and she said she didn't know. I was given the alternative of waiting a while until Daavlin and Kaiser finalized their contract. But, as I told the Daavlin representative, psoriasis does have a habit of blooming if not treated, and mine was already starting to reappear with a vengeance. So, I decided to go ahead with a purchase through Apria.

As an aside, the folks at Daavlin were wonderful, very helpful and genuinely concerned with my issues. Their product, the DermPal, is great and I would recommend this company to anyone who is trying to control their psoriasis at home.

It wasn't a week after Apria and I formalized my purchase that a nice man knocked on my door, my DermaPal in hand. I signed the paperwork he produced, thanked him, and took my box inside and opened it up. And there it was- my new DermaPal. I then looked at the paperwork I'd been given and whoa! The cost had risen to $942, with tax. I quickly did the 20% calculation, and knew that was doable. I did, however, shake my head a bit with the realization that the cost of the device had increased by $322. "Middlemen," I said, knowing that the third-party (Apria) involvement in the transaction had come at a significant cost. But, hey: That's the American way! Right?

I used my DermaPal for several weeks and it worked fine, albeit not as efficiently as the great big machine at Kaiser, which is understandable. But, what the hell, I do it at home, there's no travel time, there's no $30 copay every time I got to Kaiser. So, I was - as they say - fat and happy, with just an occasional thought given to the fact that I had yet to receive Kaiser's billing for my 20% copay.

I got the statement from Kaiser yesterday. Apria billed Kaiser: $3,479.00. Kaiser paid: $1,635.13. My copay: $327.03. The percentage of difference between the original quoted price from Daavlin ($620), and what Apria billed Kaiser ($3,479) is 461%. If my math is correct, the percentage of difference between the original quoted price of the unit ($620) from Daavlin, compared to what Apria's invoice to me showed ($914) is 52%. The percentage of difference between the original quoted price from Daavlin ($620), and what Kaiser paid to Apria ($1635) is 164% The percentage of difference between what my copay would have been on the original quote ($124), compared to what it is now ($327) is 164%.

The most starkly disturbing thing about this is, I suppose, the impact this sleight-of-hand manipulation of our healthcare system has on you and me. The cost of healthcare in this country is abominable, and it's things like what I've described above that grate as fingernails across a blackboard. What the hell is going on? Why does it persist? Healthcare insurers have got to know about this travesty. Don't they? Or, is every entity involved in providing healthcare services in this country in on the deal - smiling slyly at one another with the knowledge that ultimately the consumer will pay whatever the cost? And with what I've chronicled, the consumer - me - gets hit twice: premiums keep rising, and copays increase by, yes, 164% simply because a middleman stepped into the picture.

Something isn't right about this, buckaroos. In fact, it stinks.

It has been 10 months home and things have not improved at all. I have missed entire months of supplies we are entitled to, orders continue to come in incorrectly, late, partial, etc. I deal with supervisors, make calls and emails and no improvement. You place orders only to find out that they haven't been put through and deal with rude customer service who is unfamiliar with the supplies that they supply. Life is hard enough to care of a sick baby and a family's time and efforts should not be fighting with such an irresponsible DME company which puts the patient at great risk.

Today, we received collection call. I asked why their system hadn't updated with our payment, and "Emma" told me that it takes up to 30 days to update. We also received an EOB from our insurance today showing we owe Apria nothing. I asked Emma to have a supervisor call back so we can resolve this, but we are still waiting for this call. Needless to say, there are other providers for these supplies that you don't have to put up with this terrible service. After being hassled by them for a couple of years, we are finally done with them.

Finally, about a week after his surgery, we were able to place the order. But then when we got the supplies (close to 2 weeks after his surgery at this point), it was for a Mickey button when I told her several times he had a Bard button. So we had to ship it back and wait several more days for correct supplies. The second order I placed was actually correct. Then the third order shipped with syringes that didn't even work with the tubing (couldn't connect). The fourth order was mysteriously never really placed! I called last Monday, September 17, expecting a shipment around the 20th. I called again September 21 to see where the order was and another sales person told me there was no record of an order. So I had to place another one and wait even longer!

So I called the doctor's office to see if I can get him to put an order for his medical supplies in to another supplier and the nurse told me that they have received 20 calls in the past 2 weeks requesting the same thing. Unfortunately, no other supplier in my area takes our insurance, so we are stuck with Apria. After a long period of reusing the feeding tubes as much as I possibly can, I had to place another order. I called to check on the status of my order that I placed on 1/28/13 and lo and behold, the order doesn't seem to exist. How do orders just disappear? This is the second time that my order has been lost in your wonderful system. Thank God, my son is at a point that he isn't dependent on his feeding tube but let me tell you that it is the only way we can give him his medicine.

The first person I talked to yesterday who informed me that there was no record of the order I placed Monday, and she then put me on hold so she could connect me with a manager. Please note that you do not put someone on hold for God knows how long since I hung up after 5 minutes when they have had their fifth order screwed up! I called back again and of course got another person who was clueless. I know his doctor faxed his information about his G-tube to Apria when he got it. I was asked then if he got a Mickey, to which I replied no since he has a Bard. This second person yesterday told me that they have no history of my orders at all. When I tried to place an order for the third time, I have no patience to keep repeating myself and being asked even more questions. I still have not been able to confirm that an order has been placed.

I can understand a few mix-ups, but 5 out of 6 orders have been completely screwed up! Two parents that I know who have had to use Apria for their children (and we're talking about special needs children!) have done nothing but complain to me about your company. So clearly, I am not alone in this frustration. But you would think that a company who provides supplies for special needs kids to get nourishment would figure out that they need to actually get the supplies to the children that need them.

Three months after my mom's death, they still hadn't picked up the hospice products. We had to look at them that whole time. They were even once set up for them to pick up on Mother's Day. We waited all day, and no one showed. Like everyone else, we received a huge bill for not turning them in on time. But we couldn't turn them in! The only way was for a driver to pick them up!

This happened to so many people, including my sister with a breast pump and my mother-in-law with a sleep apnea machine, that I realized it was their scam, and I fought them. During this time, we received threatening phone calls; and it wasn't until I had my dad, who is a lawyer, call them that the threats stopped and the bill was dropped. The sad thing is that I know there must be so many people who could not keep fighting a company that big, shady, and sneaky. The worst part is that most of the people Apria would be harassing are very sick, have a premature baby, or had a loved one die. Most people are not in a fighting spirit at that time in their lives. It's sickening.

Three weeks after the initial payment when the mistake was found, I went to the office to get my check back after they assured me they would keep it, only to find out my check was no longer there. Apria cashed after they admitted they did not need it and told me they would have it for me. Six weeks later, I receive a check in the mail for the amount they stole from me made out to my 10-week-old son. After numerous other phone calls to see why, I am told you could have tried to cash it, but we cancelled it yesterday because you held on to it.

So now I have to wait another 4-6 weeks for a money that never should have been taken in the first place. I realize $70 isn't a lot to some, but we are a single-income family of four that has to do monthly trips to children's hospital. To us, $70 is a whole lot.

I have taken time from my schedule on two occasions. I have been harassed and continue to be harassed. I have left messages for Mr. Michael ** who is suppose to be the supervisor in charge and he does not return my phone call. I have been storing the wheelchair for the company and they now owe me storage fees and it has been since December that I have not used the chair. I have been through a horrible ordeal and this is causing me extreme anxiety on a regular basis.