Apria Healthcare

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Regards,
[redacted]
Apria wait times to schedule a window for an appointment are way too long and must be under 5 minutes. I cannot wait 20-25 minutes or more to get an Apria Customer Service person on the phone. This compliant will not be resolved until Apria gets their wait times under 5 minutes 90% of the time. I experience long wait times too often.  Thank you.[redacted]

We have confirmed that a refund of $408.00 total was requested on November 25, 2015, which takes two weeks to receive.  The refund has been mailed and suggest the patient please allow the necessary amount of time to receive it. We believe that we have taken all appropriate steps to resolve this problem to the patient’s satisfaction.

Apria Healthcare Billing Center Patient Account Resolution Team Lead [redacted],mailed Mr. [redacted] an itemized statement that shows zero balance and no openinvoices. On 6-17-2015.

We have confirmed that the patient was billed a total of $206.69 for cpap supplies received May 23, 2016 after insurance applied a deductible. The charge of $68.05 made June 4, 2016 applied to this invoice. The insurance came back and paid the claim in full July 5, 2016, causing the patient’s...

payment to reverse and creating a credit of $206.69. The patient was also charged $6.41 on June 17, 2016 for cpap rental date of service June 14, 2016. The statement reflecting adjustments was each line item for May 23, 2016 showing where the payment was reversed. The patient had auto pay set in our epay system to debit his card and can take up to fourteen days to reflect in our system. We have mailed the patient a receipt several times, which he indicated wasn’t good enough due to the receipt didn’t reflect the date of the actual charge. We have mailed an itemized invoice reflecting the charge dates and a refund has been processed to his [redacted] card of $74.46. There have been updates to our statement layout, however we will not be making any new changes at this time and take all feedback in consideration. We do apologize for any inconvenience.
 
Sincerely,
 
Apria Healthcare LLC

ITEM # 1: Mrs. [redacted] states that Apria did not obtain the authorization, therefore the insurance will not pay. She state that the insurance has said the balance is not patient responsibility and she wants the amount adjusted RESPONSE: We have discussed this issue with the insurance and wife...

on multiple occasion’s Apria delivered a wound therapy pump and supplies to Mr. [redacted] on January 6, 2014. Mr. [redacted] signed the Sales Service and Rental Agreement stating that any amounts not covered by the insurance would be patient responsibility. Apria tried to obtain the authorization, however [redacted] denied as the type of wound that the patient had was not covered. [redacted] informed Apria on January 13, 2014 that they would not cover the wound therapy pump. Apria asked what we needed to do to help in getting the service covered. [redacted] said a peer to peer. We placed a call to the patient and spoke with Mrs. [redacted] who confirmed the doctor. We left four messages with the doctor that a peer to peer call needed to take place. On January 16, 2014 we spoke with the nurse at the doctor’s office and she stated that the doctor had spoken to [redacted] yesterday. We called [redacted], who stated the doctor called and made a peer to peer appointment. The nurse called us back and stated that the doctor was going to try a different therapy as the insurance has still denied because of the type of wound the patient had. We called and left a message for the patient that the insurance still denied and we were placing the equipment in a pick up as the doctor was going to try a different therapy. We left another message on January 24, 2014 regarding the patient of the [redacted] pick up process. The equipment was received back and placed into the system on January 31, 2014. Ms. [redacted] called and made a payment of $63.87 on March 25, 2014. We spoke to Mrs. [redacted] on April 28, 2014 regarding the open balance of $1201.35. We explained to her that we tried to obtain the authorization and the insurance denies as they did not cover the use of the equipment for the type of wound the patient had and per our contract we can bill patients for amounts not covered by the insurance. On June 5, 2014, we emailed [redacted] to send us something in writing reflecting that the item is no longer covered by [redacted] or to reprocess the claim, per our contract. We spoke with Mrs. [redacted] on January 29, 2015 and explained once again that [redacted] denied the authorization due to the wound did not meet the criteria; therefor, following the Sales Service and Rental Agreement, the patient is responsible. We sent a copy of the documentation to Mrs. [redacted] for review. Additionally, upon meeting certain conditions (primarily relating to age of the claim) certain charges may be referred to a third party collection agency. The January 6, 2014 claim was referred to collections on April 12, 2015, Mr. [redacted] can set up a payment plan with the collection agency. We do apologize for the miscommunication as our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well as accurate billing.   Sincerely, [redacted] Billing Center Quality Specialist

We would like to sincerely apologize for the level of customer service you recently...

experienced during a visit to the local facility. After a review we determined that the logistic manager contacted you to ensure you received the respiratory equipment.   We greatly appreciate you for taking the time to bring your concerns to our attention. We welcome all patient feedback as this provides us with a valuable insight into our services from the patient’s perspective which allows us to make service improvements, as it has done in this case.     Sincerely,   Apria Healthcare, LLC.

RESPONSE:
Multiple attempts have been made to exchange the light weight wheelchair for patient. Patient has refused each attempt.  Apria is unable to satisfy the patient with each attempt and has exhausted all efforts.

Customer’s Statement of the Problem: “No calls back bad information provided sleep apnea machine that that is giving me lots of problems for months.  No one would come out to see the problem not till after 6 calls or more was I told my warranty expired and I need to rent a machine,...

constant run around no call back very poor customer service company.  Sleep Apnea is a life threatening illness.  Takes forever to process anything or get someone on the phone.” Desired Settlement: No damages just want a new machine!! Or this one fixed they wasted my time for 6 months.  RESPONSE  Our Respiratory Therapist spoke to customer about his equipment and advised that he could try to obtain new equipment since his is having issues as his equipment is no longer under warranty.  Customer was also advised to discuss with his insurance to see if they would authorize a replacement unit. Customer was provided details on how to proceed with the repair process. The Respiratory Therapist left subsequent messages returning his calls to call back to further discuss his concerns. In addition, the Branch Manager spoke with the customer and explained the process in getting his customer owned equipment repaired.  He was explained the possible out of pocket charges for the repair process and steps to have it completed.  The customer decided that since his machine is working but is getting an error that he might purchase another unit privately online in case his machine stops working completely.  The customer then thanked the Branch Manager for discussing what his options were.  He stated that he felt as though the Respiratory Therapist was not specific enough for him, but the Branch Manager helped to support what he was already told.   After reviewing the account and speaking with the customer, the issue stemmed from an error reading for the SD Card which does not impair the functionality of the machine.  The card would not be inserted into the machine to ensure the error reading is not duplicated.  Since the equipment is owned by the customer and is no longer a rental item and is not covered under any warranty at this time, the financial responsibility for the repair of the equipment would be on the customer.   Sincerely,  
[redacted] Branch Manager

We would like to take this opportunity to apologize again for the level of customer service you experienced. After another review of your records, we confirmed there was recent communication with the customer service manager and you to discuss your concerns. We believe through this communication all your concerns and questions were answered. Again, We greatly appreciate you for taking the time to bring your concerns to our attention.Sincerely,Apria Healthcare, LLC.

We would like to apologize for the level of customer service you experienced.  During a review of your records, we have confirmed that you initially received the wrong respiratory supplies in 2015. We also determined that the Customer Service team worked to rectify the mistake in which you were...

provided the correct supplies along with a billing adjustment on your account.
                   
Again, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Thank you for taking the time to bring your concerns to our attention. We welcome all patient feedback as this provides us with a valuable insight into our services from the patient’s perspective which allows us to make service improvements, as it has done in this case.
Sincerely,
Apria Healthcare LLC

Item # 1:Mr. [redacted] states that his insurance through his employer changed in June 2014 from [redacted] to [redacted]. Mr. [redacted] states that Apria Healthcare failed to bill his new insurance for the CPAP rental, which resulted in a balance being billed to Mr. [redacted] in the amount...

of $531.86 which has now been forwarded to a collection agency. Mr. [redacted] stated that he has attempted to contact Apria Healthcare billing to discuss this but was not able to speak with anyone due to lengthy hold times.    RESPONSE:After thorough review of Mr. [redacted]’s account, we confirmed that he received the CPAP(Continuous Passive Airway Pressure) Unit on August 23, 2007. At that time, Mr. [redacted] had insurance with [redacted]. Per [redacted]’s contract, they rent for ten months and then the equipment is placed into maintenance & service. When we obtained Mr. [redacted]’s new insurance on July 17,2014, we verified the Mr. [redacted]’s coverage with [redacted]/ [redacted] plan which was effective June 1, 2014. After reviewing the account in full, it was determined that the incorrect insurance was attached which resulted a denial when we submitted the claim to the local [redacted] plan. In conclusion, Apria Healthcare has submitted a request to remove the invoice that was sent to our outsourced collection agency, State Collections. Once the invoice is recalled, it will no longer reflect as Mr. [redacted]’s responsibility. We do apologize for the miscommunication as our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well as accurate billing.  Sincerely,[redacted]Patient Account Resolution Team Lead

ITEM # 1: Mr. [redacted] states that he purchased a CPAP device in 2013, however he was charge #44.00 a month on top of what he had paid at set up. He states after coming to an agreement with his insurance company and Apria he paid his portion. Then in April 2015, he received new charges for the June...

and July 2014 claims. He states the claims were paid and Apria’s system is over booking and he wants the amount removed. RESPONSE: We have reviewed Mr. [redacted] account and found that he received a CPAP device and supplies on August 26, 2013. We submitted claims to [redacted] per their contract to rent the CPAP device 13 months and convert to sale in the 14th month on behalf of Mr. [redacted]. Once [redacted] processed the claims any amount not covered by them was billed as patient responsibility. The July and August 26, 2014 claims were denied by [redacted] on March 13, 2015, in which the amounts of $44.47 were referred as patient responsibility. Once the amounts were unpaid they were referred to collections on May 16, 2015. As a courtesy we removed the balance of $88.94 from collections, leaving Mr. [redacted] a $0.00 balance.  We do apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Sincerely, [redacted] Billing Center Quality Specialist

We have confirmed that the patient received a bill for $326.71, which covered October 15, 2015 $179.19 and January 19, 2016 $147.52. This balance was paid April 6, 2016. The patient was previously billed $305.75 for April 3, 2015 $158.23 and July 14, 2015 $147.52. The payment for this balance posted December 22, 2015 and was reversed January 4, 2016 creating an open balance again. The patient did pay this balance again and payment posted February 18, 2016. Part of the balance had gone to collections on February 7, 2016 for $123.01. Once payment posted it applied to July 14, 2015 for $147.52. February 22, 2016 Apria Healthcare requested $123.01 be applied to the collection balance from April 3, 2015 which left $35.22 as an over payment. The total charge for April 3, 2015 had not been paid and $35.22 applied. All balances have been paid and account resolved. We believe that all appropriate steps have been made to resolve this issue to the patient’s satisfaction.
Sincerely,
Apria Healthcare LLC

We have reviewed Ms. [redacted] account and have requested a refund be processed in the amount of $164.04 and she will receive it within two weeks. We do apologize for the miscommunication as our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well as accurate billing.

Item # 1:  Customer called Apria Healthcare regarding her delivery time.  Was initially told would be delivered by noon.  Then received an automated call stating the delivery would be between 12-4 p.m.   Item # 2:  Customer experienced excessive hold times when...

trying to contact Apria Healthcare regarding the status of her delivery. RESPONSEOne of our Team Leaders has tried twice to contact Ms. [redacted] on February 3 and again on February 6 to discuss her concerns with our company.  To date, Ms. [redacted] has not returned our calls.  Apria Healthcare did implement a new phone call routing system on February 2 that has significantly decreased our hold times.  Our delivery times do change throughout the day due to the nature of our business and emergent issues arising.  We make every attempt to contact our patients to advise if their expected delivery time changes by more than 2 hours. Sincerely,  [redacted]Area Customer Service ManagerLittleton, CO

ITEM # 1:  Mr. [redacted] states that Apria failed to address its poor customer service, long wait times, overpriced medical equipment and poor billing procedures. He states that Apria holds his credit card for ransom and bill it before the insurance replies. Mr. [redacted] is requesting payment for his time that he spent on hold/disputing the charges. RESPONSE Apria is working on improving our hold times and strive for excellent customer service. We apologize if Mr. [redacted] feels that he was not provided the excellent customer service that Apria strives to provide all of our customers. Apria has contracted prices set in place with Mr. [redacted]’s insurance company in which Apria submits co-pay amounts that are not covered by the insurance. With the ongoing changes in healthcare, it is now part of our requirements before providing our service that we collect a credit card to ensure we have our payment secured for the services we provide. Apria only charges the co-pay amount upfront before the claim has been processed by the insurance. After the insurance processes the claim, Apria will charge the patient any additional amount not covered by the insurance company. We believe that we have taken all appropriate steps to correct the problem and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused; however we cannot reimburse Mr. [redacted] for the time involved in resolving the problem. Sincerely,[redacted] Billing Center Quality Specialist

We have reviewed patient account and confirmed that the charges billed to her credit card was for dates of service October 20th, 2016 and October 24th, 2016 for the CPAP machine rental and supplies received. The charge in the amount of $21.00 has been reversed off and will be refunded to patient in...

check form. Patient credit card has also been removed from the account as requested and will no longer be automatically charged for services. We do apologize for the miscommunication as our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well as accurate billing.     Sincerely,   Apria Healthcare LLC

Item # 1:  Mr. [redacted] stated he would like an explanation of the statement he received dated June 20, 2015 and would like to receive a billing statement and is requesting that his credit card is removed from automatic payments.   RESPONSE: We have reviewed Mr. [redacted] account and...

confirmed that the statement he received on June 20, 2015 was for date of service May 20, 2015 for the monthly rental of his respiratory assistance device. We submitted claims to his primary insurance [redacted] in which they cover his monthly rental at 80% and Mr. [redacted] was billed $104.44 which is his 20% copay amount that he’s responsible for. I have removed Mr. [redacted] credit card from recurring but the credit card will remain on file but will not be automatically charged. We do apologize for the miscommunication as our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well as accurate billing.     Sincerely,  
[redacted]
 
[redacted] Billing Center Quality Specialist

I have previously submitted a complaint about Apria (ID [redacted]) which was supposedly "resolved". I spent literally hours on the phone with Apria trying to understand the state of my account, after long waits on the phone and discussion, Apria agreed to contact their collection agency and remove the action to collect an invalid debt from me and reimburse me of overcharges. On 14 Mar 2016 I received a bill for $326.17 covering services delivered between April and January of 2015, which are the items previously paid for (as bills were received in 2015), discussed and supposedly "resolved" during my complaint of Feb 2016. Here is a recap of the timeline I compiled back in Feb. 1. 3 Apr 2016 – Online statement shows amount due of $326.17 2. 1 Apr 2016 – Received a bill from Apria for $326.17 3. Late Feb 2016 – Phone call with Apria which resolved that I did not owe anything and Apria actually a overbilled me. 4. 16 Feb 2016, 6:37pm – Received phone call from collection agency calling on behalf of Apria, says I owe $123.??. 5. 16 Feb 2016, 3:37pm – Missed call from collection agency 6. 15 Feb 2016, 6:40pm – Missed call from collection agency 7. 8 Feb 2016 – Paid $305.75, reference code on bill [redacted] 8. 24 Jan 2016 – Online Statement shows amount due $305.75 9. 24 Dec 2015 – Online Statement shows posted payment of $305.75 with $0.00 amount due. 10. 12 Dec 2015 – Paid $305.75 directly from Checking account on Apria Website, confirmation number 2151322, no funds ever drawn on checking account. 11. 24 Nov 2015 – Online Statement says Total Amount Due $0.00 12. 24 Nov 2015 – Online Statement says Total Amount Due $305.75 13. 2015 Total Posted Payments -$305.75 listed on Apria Website 14. 2016 Total Posted Payments $305.75 listed on Apria WebsiteI would like to have this issue resolved once and for all. I will not be doing ANY business with Apria once this issue is resolved.

We would like to apologize for the level of customer service you recently experienced. After a review of your records, we have confirmed the delay in receiving your supplies was due to the missing compliance report from your cpap machine. The compliance report is required in order to obtain authorization from your insurance provider.
In addition we confirmed that management has contacted you and the supplies were shipped to you as a courtesy. The compliance report from your cpap is necessary to continue providing services. The customer service representative was provided coaching due to the lack of follow up.
 
Again, we sincerely apologize for any challenges and inconvenience this has caused you.
We greatly appreciate you for taking the time to bring your concerns to our attention. We welcome all patient feedback as this provides us with a valuable insight into our services from the patient’s perspective which allows us to make service improvements, as it has done in this case.
 
Sincerely,
 
Apria Healthcare LLC