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]
I am rejecting this nonsense of an excuse because they wouldnt have told me that I was approved in the first place!in fact we would have never accepted the machine unless we were approved because we simply could not afford the $211 monthly so this excuse is alot of nonsense!

ITEM # 1: Customer’s Statement of the Problem: To Whom It May Concern: I am extremely unhappy with the “service: that Apria Healthcare provides. Each time I order a specific supply, the company sends a slew of additional items and charges our insurance company. I have called Apria many times to...

clear up these issues. I am told it will be handled and it is not. Recently my doctor’s office ordered me a new mask which I received. However, Apria sent an additional box with hose, filters, etc. I called the customer service department 2 weeks ago and was told I would receive a call with a “call tag” information to return these items. Of course nobody has called and I am not surprised. Today I was notified by [redacted] that Apria billed US $271.46 for the recent supplies. The mask was only $144.17 of this charge. [redacted] APRIA ACCOUNT # [redacted]. Complaint Background: Product/Service: Mask Purchase Date: 5/1/2015 Problem Occurred: 5/10/2015 Model: Account Number: ACCOUNT # [redacted] Order Number: Talked to Company: 5/12/2015 Purchase Price: $144.17 Disputed Amount: $127.2 RESPONSE: A refund was requested on 05/14/2015 which can take up to 15 days for processing. The items were disposed of by Ms. [redacted] at the request of Apria. Ms. [redacted]’s account has been closed. Sincerely, [redacted] Supervisor Sleep Management Center Apria Healthcare

Item # 1:  Patient is being charged for an oxygen concentrator that is not being used and would like a refund for all past rental. RESPONSE This patient is currently prescribed to use oxygen continuously (24 hours per day) and this prescription requires that the patient have both a...

concentrator and portable oxygen system provided. Apria received a call from the patient on 3/5/15 stating that they would like the concentrator picked up as they were not using it. This is the only call that Apria request for pickup that is on file with Apria. It was explained at this time that it was Apria’s policy to provide a concentrator and portable when the patient was prescribed continuous oxygen and that we could not provide a portable only. A supervisor at the local branch will call the patient again today to explain this as well as to let her know that if her physician changes her prescription, we can pick up the equipment or she may sign an Against Medical Advice waiver for removal of the oxygen from her home without doctor’s orders. As Apria was providing equipment as ordered by this patient’s physician and accepted by the patient, we will not be providing a refund on any past rental invoices.  Sincerely,   [redacted] Branch Manager Oceanside, CA

We have confirmed that the patient was billed $21.38 copays for dates in November and December 2016. His insurance covers at 100% after his out of pocket is met, however Apria Healthcare isn’t given this information unless an insurance verification is done. The monthly copays were reversed from the...

bill as the insurance paid the claims. There is still a balance of $4.15 from November 11, 2016 in which the claim was rejected due to the subscriber information and was submitted Janauray16, 2017. The balance of $4.15 has been placed back under insurance until the claim is processed due to the insurance paying the previous claims at 100%. The action to resolve the issue of a copay generating is to have the insurance re-verified to confirm coverage, however due to being the beginning of the year the patient’s copays and deductibles have restarted and he have a balance of $172.27 for January 2, 2017 and January 11, 2017, due to insurance applying their deductible. The patient has been sent a letter explaining this to him and removed from texting updates. We. do apologize for the miscommunication as our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well as accurate billing.   Sincerely,  Apria Healthcare, LLC.

We would like to apologize for the level of customer service you recently experienced. After a review of the patient’s records, we confirmed there was a delay in receiving the [redacted] Medical Equipment due to the facility not having the correct attachments to fit the [redacted] Medical Equipment....

While attempting to reorder the attachments, the patient’s advocate at the hospital called Apria to cancel the order, as they have found a different provider. Apria’s Customer Service and General Managers used this opportunity to provide coaching and retraining for their staff regarding the delay in providing the equipment and/or feedback to 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.

ITEM # 1: Patient wants setup on the CPAP machine ASAP RESPONSE: The original CPAP order was received by Apria Healthcare on February 11, 2015 but did not meet the [redacted] documentation requirements: Face to face chart or progress notes missing facility address and signature illegible Written...

order prior to delivery missing the physician’s NPI number   Apria requested a new written order prior to delivery, [redacted] billing prescription and an attestation form from the physician on February 11, March 25, March 30 April 6 and April 13, 2015. On April 21, 2015, we identified an error made by an Apria agent on the original attestation form. Apria corrected this error on the same day it was identified and notified the physician’s office to explain why a corrected attestation form was needed to process the order. An updated form was received on April 24, 2015 and the order was processed. Apria attempted contact to the patient on April 27, 2015 to review benefits and to schedule an appointment for the setup of the CPAP machine; the contact was unsuccessful. In follow up, the Apria Healthcare Clinical Assistant ([redacted] branch) left a voice mail message on April 29, May and May 8, 2015. The primary phone number on file is for the patient‘s daughter. We also called a second number listed and left a message to contact Apria to schedule an appointment for the set up. The physician’s office was contacted on May 8, 2015 to in the event they could provide assistance with patient contact. We continue to attempt to contact this patient to schedule an appointment for setup. ITEM #2: Employees to be sanctioned for lack of resolution and incorrect information provided.   RESPONSE: Apria will provide the proper coaching and education to address any errors made by Apria agents/opportunities for improved customer service. Apria strives for high quality customer service and continuously evaluates quality and the performance of our agents to drive improvements.   Sincerely, [redacted] Escalation Desk Manager

After review of the account, we were able to determine that due to previous issues with getting the insurance payment applied, the patient refund was delayed. Our system automatically reposted the patients payment in error and this has been corrected. We were able to also confirm that the refund...

was sent for processing on February 2, 2017 and a check is being issued for the $39.48 previously paid. We apologize again for any inconvenience or miscommunication on our part.     Sincerely,  Apria Healthcare, LLC.

We would like to apologize for the level of customer service you recently experienced regarding the delivery of your respiratory equipment. After a review of your records, we confirmed your delivery was inadvertently left off route in error. This was discussed with all the employee involved. Also,...

we confirmed you received your delivery on February 16, 2017.   Again, we sincerely apologize for any inconveniences and/or challenges 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

We have reviewed patient account and confirmed that our Customer Service Team have shipped his supplies at no charge and have communicated that information to the patient as well. We do apologize for the miscommunication as our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well as accurate billing.

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.
[redacted]
Regards,
[redacted]
Why did they not send me a bill then or charge my credit card that is on file. Why 18 months later. We could have settled the account then. I never received any statement from Apria. My point is, Apria was negligent as they did not notify me in 2015 that insurance did not pay and I did not get any statement then. I feel that I should not be penalized for their billing negligence. This is not a good practice. If they billed me then either by sending me a bill or charge my credit card, I would not be paying this amount because I would have pursued it then. My insurance will not pay now - 18 months later. No wonder Apria has such negative comments on line with their billing. Probably the OIG should look into this negligent practice.

We have reviewed patient account and confirmed that we were never notified by patient that our CPAP equipment was damaged in a house fire. Patient doctor did request a new CPAP in June 2015 but patient never received the equipment. At this time patient is being charged for dates of service November...

29, 2015($17.65) and May 29, 2016($17.65) for his old CPAP machine in which it was billing every 6 months under maintenance and service because Aetna did not purchase the machine. Our billing department has converted the old equipment to sale as of July 12th, 2016 therefore we will no longer bill for the equipment but patient will still be responsible for the open balance.We do apologize for the miscommunication as our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well as accurate billing.  Sincerely,  Apria HealthCare LLC.

After further review of Ms. [redacted] daughter account we have converted her oximeter pulse to a purchase as of October 7th, 2015 and the equipment will no longer bill as a monthly rental as she now owns the equipment. At this time the account reflects a zero balance and she is no longer responsible for any charges. 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

RESPONSE: We have reviewed Mr. [redacted] account and confirmed that he received his CPAP unit and Cpap supplies from Apria on October 15th, 2014. At that time he signed the Sales, Service and Rental Agreement authorizing his credit card to be placed on file for any charges not covered by the...

insurance. Claim for date of service November 19, 2014 for CPAP supplies received was billed to [redacted] and denied as being applied to Mr. [redacted] deductible and his credit card was charged $497.84. We also billed [redacted] insurance for dates of service January 15, 2015 through July 15, 2015 for the monthly rental of his CPAP unit and for dates of service January 15, 2015 - May 15, 2015 claims were denied as being applied to Mr. [redacted] deductible and claims for dates of service June 15, 2015 - July 15, 2015 were denied as no coverage.   At this time there is no updated insurance information on file in order to request that claims be reprocessed and the open balance for all claims is $629.30 and he also has an outstanding balance in collections in the amount of $269.70 for dates services October 15, 2014 through December 15, 2014 for the monthly rental of the CPAP unit that were also denied as being applied to his deductible. 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

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.I am...

sorry for the delay. I was in fact contacted by Apria Rep stating that mistakes had been made in the billing of Insurance and that it had been corrected and refund should show on next billing statement. Hopefully I will see that when I receive next statement...Thank you So Much for your assistance......
[redacted]
[redacted]

Item # 1:  The patients father states that they were discharged from the hospital on January 18, 2015 with a portable oxygen tank which lasts 8 days on the current liter flow when they arrived home they contacted Apria Healthcare to notify the company that they had arrived home and that they were ready for the home set up while they were on the phone a representative from Apria contacted the family as well to confirm they were home and they would receive their delivery that evening. The next day the family contacted Apria that no delivery was made and the representative could not locate the patient in the system we were told that we would get a delivery that afternoon and again we called since no one had showed up the technician finally arrived at the home at 8:10 PM with the oxygen and was told that the tank that he delivered would last 4 weeks based on the patients liter flow. 3 days later the tank that was delivered was half empty and had to make another call to have a technician come out and deliver a new tank. The technician that came to our home exchanged the tank and said that the tank was set up improperly I am hoping that we are not charged for any fees for Apria’s error. On January 30, 2015 our pediatrician order an O2 test to be performed but we had not heard from Apria so we called and spoke to the representative who said we would be getting it on Monday that never happened until Tuesday February 3, 2015RESPONSE  Called and spoke with [redacted] regarding his concerns about the delivery that they received and apologized for any inconvenience that we may have caused him and his family. I explained to Mr. [redacted] that the confusion regarding the customer service rep not finding his sons information was that the paperwork that Apria received from the hospital at discharge had the incorrect name on it with baby boy Rodgers on the RX and discharge paperwork and not [redacted] so that was why the Customer service rep had such a hard time locating the work order for delivery. I also explained that we do charge by the month and that he would not be charged extra for the delivery of the M tank that he received a few days later. I apologized to Mr. [redacted] and let him know that I understood his concerns about his newborn and that I also had a small child as well so I could relate to his concerns about the way his child was being treated at that time. I gave Mr. [redacted] my direct contact information if he had any more concerns to please contact me direct.  Sincerely, [redacted]Branch Manager

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 has still not contacted me about this. Also They have never addressed why I was told when picking up machine that supplies that would be covered at no cost for RENTAL period were no longer covered after first few months. Yes I would like my overpayment,but this company has a long way to make a satisfied customer. I also plan to complain to my insurance for doing business with them.

I received the check today, Thank you so much for your assistance in getting this resolved. I really appreciate it. [redacted]
[redacted]

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.
[The business must contact me via email as requested. See attachment (April 7, 2017) for new developments.]
Regards,
[redacted]

I still do not understand why they:1.  Admit that their computer system indicates I cancelled my order yet they sent it anyway2.  Their system shows that the mask was in fact send on 26 December, yet for some reason it was not3.  I find it hard to believe that an item this common was out of stock for such a long period of time4.  I could not contact ANYONE from this company that could answer any question for several weeks.The level of incompetence this company maintains is staggering for a medical supply company.

ITEM # 1:  
Mr. [redacted] states that the way Apria went about getting his credit card information was inappropriate and was without his authorization.
RESPONSE
We have reviewed Mr. [redacted]’s account and found that we received an order to set Mr. [redacted] up with a CPAP unit and supplies on...

May 1, 2014. On May 9, 2014, Apria verified Mr. [redacted]’s insurance with Medicare and spoke to him about his appointment on May 14, 2014 and collected his 20% co-pay amount of $64.44.
Medicare has specific requirements in order to qualify certain types of claims for reimbursements. These typically involve test results of a certain nature, statements from the physician regarding “medical necessity’, and other specific types of documentation. Although Apria may assist patients in the process of obtaining specific documentation in an effort to qualify a claim for reimbursement, the Responsible Party remains ultimately responsible for obtaining documentation and information necessary to meet such requirements. In the event a Payor’s specific requirements are not met, the Responsible Party may be required to pay for charges that otherwise should have been covered by the Payor.
Apria sent a request to the physician on May 19, 2014, to sign the initial Certificate of Medical Necessity to be submitted with the Medicare claim. On June 19, 2014, Apria verified that Medicare requires a qualifying sleep study test without using a CPAP device. We were not able to obtain a copy of the actual test documentation. Therefore, we cannot determine if the test was performed in accordance with Medicare guidelines.
Apria had not been able to obtain the needed sleep study, therefore on August 14, 2014, mailed a 60 day letter to request help in obtaining the needed documentation. Mr. [redacted] came into the office on August 27, 2014 and picked up heated tubing and returned the signed Advance Beneficiary Notice and Sales Service and Rental Agreement. Mr. [redacted]’s credit card information was placed on the Sales Service and Rental Agreement in which was placed on his account to charge his co-pay, deductible or any non covered charged by Medicare once signed.   
On August 29, 2014, Apria reviewed Mr. [redacted]’s account again and found that we still needed a new sleep study. Apria received and loaded the signed Advance Beneficiary Notice and Sales Service and Rental Agreement on September 15, 2014. Apria made adjustments
to the insurance portions of the claims in the amount of $387. 88 for the May 15, 2014 – August 14, 2014 claims before the Advance Beneficiary Notice was signed by Mr. [redacted]. 
Mr. [redacted] called and spoke with Apria on October 20, 2014, regarding the Assignment of Benefits letter he had received. The Apria representative explained to Mr. [redacted] that the CPAP unit rents for 13 months , then converts to sale and that no claims had been submitted to Medicare because of missing documentation.
On November 3, 2014, Apria received a call from Mr. [redacted] regarding the recurring credit card attached to his account and requested to have the credit card removed. The representative did explain to Mr. [redacted] that he would need to send a written request per the agreement in the Sales Service and Rental Agreement. However, as of today we have removed Mr. [redacted]’s credit card information on file per his request.
We have spoken to Mr. [redacted] on November 12, 2014 and explained that we needed a repeat sleep study and asks if he wanted to return the CPAP unit. He stated no and was upset and stated that he was going to contact the Revdex.com and did not want any more calls from Apria. We placed Mr. [redacted] on our do not contact list per his request.
As of today Mr. [redacted]’s balance is $7.50 for the November 14, 2014 date of service. There are pending claims from August 28, 2014 – November 14, 2014 under Medicare. 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