Apria Healthcare

We would like to apologize for the level of customer service you recently experienced regarding your Durable Medical Equipment (DME). After a review of your records, we have confirmed that the delay in processing your order was due to missing documentation from your ordering physician that is...

required by your insurance provider. Several attempts were made to obtain the documentation from the ordering physician (December 6, 2017 and again on 12/28.2017). On December 29, 2017 Apria received the documentation from the ordering physician; however, due to technical systems issues we were unable to finish processing the order until January 2, 2018. In addition, our records indicate that on January 3, 2018 you canceled the order.   Again, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience or challenges this issue may have caused. 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 the patient’s account again and after reviewing the documentation he provided, we have entered an adjustment for his balance of $217.92, therefore; the patient is no longer responsible for the charges. The account now reflects a zero balance. We do apologize for the miscommunication as our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well as accurate billing.

RESPONSE Upon receipt of Ms. [redacted]’s concern I reviewed the account.  It appears that Ms. [redacted] actually had the appointment for the mask fitting on 08/17/2015.  Notes in the account document that Ms. [redacted] was provided a new mask during the office visit.  I attempted to contact Ms. [redacted] but received voicemail that her phone was not currently working.  I did leave her a voicemail with my direct contact number for any future concerns and I will be offering her an apology for the frustration she experienced.      Sincerely,     [redacted] Area Customer Service Manager

In review of this concern, I reviewed the call Instance ID [redacted] which was an outbound call on 06/29/15 at 2:53pm. During that call, the husband advised which breast pump he wanted, the agent advised that it appeared the branch did not have that item in-stock but she could send the order out to the branch but the item would have to be ordered. She provided the branch the direct contact number for the branch and advised the husband that they would have to pick up the pump at the branch. She told him to make certain he called before he came in because the item was not currently in stock. The call was handled very well. The frustration came during follow up conversations with the branch agent. This PCCR should be reviewed by the branch. The wife was set to have her c section on 07/02/15 and they wanted to make sure they had the pump prior to her surgery. [redacted] Area Customer Service Manager

We have confirmed that the patient received a CPAP with humidifier November 21, 2014 and walked in the branch on April 14, 2015 to return the machine. Patient stated Apria was too slow in following the doctor’s orders. Apria charged the patient’s credit/debit card $81.95, which $65.56 applied to...

patient’s deductible for January 21, 2015 and $16.39 applied to March 21, 2015 for copay. The patient disputed this amount with her credit/debit card company and was refunded due to authorization for automatic billing was not signed. The balance of $65.56 was sent to collections for non payment and $16.39 is still showing due. These are valid balances and the patient is responsible, however we did adjust April 21, 2015 $24.09 and May 21, 2015 $99.71 balances that were billed to her insurance. We do apologize for the miscommunication as our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well as accurate billing.

Item # 1:Ms. [redacted] has filed a rebuttal in regards to the amount that was refunded to her on1/27/15 in the amount of $71.33; stating that we owe her an additional amount of $5.79. RESPONSE:We have reviewed Ms. [redacted]’s account and as mentioned in response letter dated January 30, 2015, we refunded the amount of $71.33 on January 27, 2014. The total amount for the CPAP supply order was $112.13. We have taken small balance adjustments on this invoice totaling to $7.17 which leaves the total amount for this invoice $104.96. The amount of $71.33 is still pending on the account as an open balance on Ms.[redacted]’s behalf which was applied to her annual deductible with her insurance company. There are no further refunds due to Ms. [redacted] at this time.We apologize for any inconvenience or miscommunications pertaining to your account.Our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well as accurate billing. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We do apologize for the miscommunication as our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well as accurate billing. Sincerely,[redacted]Patient Pay Management Center Lead

Item # 1:  Ms. [redacted] stated he was informed that all claims would be handled in an appropriate, accurate and correct manner when he received his respiratory assistance device on May 9th, 2014 from Apria Healthcare but because of incomplete and incorrect information being submitted to his...

insurance he received an invoice for $2,560.83.   RESPONSE: We have reviewed Ms. [redacted] account and confirmed that she received a respiratory assistance device and supplies on May 9th, 2014. At that time Ms. [redacted] signed a Sales, Service and Rental Agreement authorizing her credit card to be placed on file for any charges not covered by the insurance. Apria submitted an authorization request to [redacted] for the rental of Ms. [redacted] respiratory assistance device and insurance informed us it would take 3 days to receive the paperwork in their system and 48-72 hours to process.  On May 16, 2014 which was past the processing time we still did not have the authorization on file. When contacting [redacted] that day we were informed that the authorization was still pending.   Apria contacted [redacted] again on May 21, 2014 and was informed that the authorization for dates of service May 8, 2014- August 6, 2014 was denied as not medically necessary. We received the clinical notes from the doctor on June 26, 2014 and a copy of the download from Ms. [redacted] on June 27, 2014. On July 10, 2014 we faxed a copy of the machine download and justification of why she needs the machine to [redacted] in order for claims to be paid. On 12/18/14 it was confirmed by a [redacted] representative that the appeal for the claims were closed as the decision remained to deny the claims since the download was non-compliant.     On August 6, 2014 we converted Ms. [redacted] respiratory device to a purchase amount $1,652.95 because she was not qualified for the equipment. She is also responsible for dates of service May 9, 2014 and June 9, 2014 for the rental of the respiratory assistance device before it converted to a purchase item amount $907.88. 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

Item # 1: Mr. [redacted] stated he received supplies in December 2014 from Apria Healthcare and made a payment at that time and was billed again for the same supplies.RESPONSE: We have reviewed Mr. [redacted] account and confirmed that he received CPAP supplies from Apria on December 12th, 2014. At that...

time a payment was processed for him for $65.51. On April 13th, 2015 he was charged $122.86 and $114.54 on July 29th, 2014 for the CPAP supply order for December 12th, 2014 because when we processed claims to the insurance we received a denial for all claims as being applied to his deductible. Mr. [redacted] credit card was automatically charged because it was set up as recurring in our system. We are unable to process a refund as the charges are valid after not receiving any payments from the insurance for the supplies received. We do apologize for the miscommunication as our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well accurate billing.Sincerely,
[redacted]
[redacted]Billing Center Quality Specialist

We have reviewed patient’s account and confirmed that she received rental equipment May 01, 2015 with authorization from her insurance for thirty days at a time. The email attached only confirms that the doctor would request an extension for six months not that it was approved. The patient called each month for extension and final extension ended July 31, 2015 with no other extension being received. The patient did not return the equipment and was sent a letter dated August 24, 2015 informing her the equipment need to be returned or she would be responsible for payment for loss of the equipment up to the maximum extent permitted. The equipment was never returned so it was converted to ownership on September 18, 2015. The remaining purchase price of $588.78 was charged to the credit card provided by the patient and authorized for billing. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

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]

First we would like to apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment in the level of customer service you experienced. We have taken steps with our customer service team to ensure they inform our patients of any missing information needed.  Also retraining has been provided to the staff...

regarding the proper procedure for obtaining the missing information from the physician.
We received a prescription from the physician for your new setting changes. The setting changes were performed remotely done on 1-13-2016. In addition, management has used this opportunity to provide coaching and retraining for our licensed employees.
Again, we sincerely apologize for the challenges you have had. We appreciate your business and will do everything we can to serve your needs.
Sincerely,
Apria Healthcare LLC

ITEM # 1: [redacted] expressed concern on the time delay in receiving a replacement CPAP machine. RESPONSE: [redacted] transitioned to [redacted] this year. The documentation for [redacted] is very extensive to qualify a patient for a PAP machine and include: A written order prior to delivery The patient has a...

face-to-face clinical evaluation by the treating physician prior to the sleep test. The patient has a signed qualifying sleep test that meets [redacted] critieria. We received the signed sleep study on 1/29 and then [redacted] received the unit on 1/30. Sincerely,[redacted]VP – Customer Contact Center

Item# 1:Ms.[redacted] states that Apria delivered the incorrect equipment and would like theissue resolved. RESPONSE:Wehave reviewed Ms. [redacted] account and found that she was delivered a commode,reclining wheel chair and patient lift on December 30, 2014 per theprescription provided to Apria by...

the doctor. Ms. [redacted] called on January 8,2015, regarding the incorrect equipment that had been delivered, she stated thepatient needed a drop arm commode not a standard and the wheel chair needed tobe a 20 inch, not an 18 inch as she had received. Afterthe prescription was reviewed again, it was determined that it did not requestthe drop arm commode or 20 inch wheel chair. It listed a reclining wheel chair,patient lift and commode. Wehave requested that our local office contact Ms. [redacted] regarding theequipment issues to assist her in finding resolution regarding Ms. [redacted]equipment issues. Weapologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Sincerely,[redacted]Billing Center Quality SpecialistItem# 1:Ms.[redacted] states that Apria delivered the incorrect equipment and would like theissue resolved. RESPONSE:Wehave reviewed Ms. [redacted] account and found that she was delivered a commode,reclining wheel chair and patient lift on December 30, 2014 per theprescription provided to Apria by the doctor. Ms. [redacted] called on January 8,2015, regarding the incorrect equipment that had been delivered, she stated thepatient needed a drop arm commode not a standard and the wheel chair needed tobe a 20 inch, not an 18 inch as she had received. Afterthe prescription was reviewed again, it was determined that it did not requestthe drop arm commode or 20 inch wheel chair. It listed a reclining wheel chair,patient lift and commode. Wehave requested that our local office contact Ms. [redacted] regarding theequipment issues to assist her in finding resolution regarding Ms. [redacted]equipment issues. Weapologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Sincerely,[redacted]Billing Center Quality SpecialistItem# 1:Ms.[redacted] states that Apria delivered the incorrect equipment and would like theissue resolved. RESPONSE:Wehave reviewed Ms. [redacted] account and found that she was delivered a commode,reclining wheel chair and patient lift on December 30, 2014 per theprescription provided to Apria by the doctor. Ms. [redacted] called on January 8,2015, regarding the incorrect equipment that had been delivered, she stated thepatient needed a drop arm commode not a standard and the wheel chair needed tobe a 20 inch, not an 18 inch as she had received. Afterthe prescription was reviewed again, it was determined that it did not requestthe drop arm commode or 20 inch wheel chair. It listed a reclining wheel chair,patient lift and commode. Wehave requested that our local office contact Ms. [redacted] regarding theequipment issues to assist her in finding resolution regarding Ms. [redacted]equipment issues. Weapologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Sincerely,[redacted]Billing Center Quality Specialist

Revdex.com  Attn: [redacted]  Dispute and Information Analyst Lead  San Diego CA  [redacted]       Re:  Apria Healthcare Inc:   [redacted], [redacted] Revdex.com Rebuttal Case Number: [redacted]   Dear Ms. [redacted]   This letter is in response to the rebuttal referenced above submitted by [redacted] to the Revdex.com.  We apologize for any miscommunication on our part that may have resulted in this rebuttal. Below is a brief description of the rebuttal matter and our response.     Item # 1:  RESPONSE Mr. [redacted] has been taken care of and has the machine and mask that he expected to receive via mail.  The Respiratory Therapist that set him up on his equipment placed a follow up call and he seemed to be very pleased with his new equipment.  He has received follow up calls from the staff as well as requested filters for future use.  There have been no further issues with this patient to our knowledge.     Sincerely,   [redacted]

We have confirmed that an adjustment of $85.66 was requested on May 11, 2016 to the patient’s account. The statement showing on epay.apria.com is dated May 04, 2016 and the new balance will not be reflected until next statement date of June 4, 2016. We have taken all appropriate steps to resolve the patient’s concern to his satisfaction.
 
Sincerely,
 
Apria Healthcare LLC

We have confirmed that the patient was billed self-pay for oxygen received June 14, 2017. The patient’s son was informed that the claim would be submitted to insurance, however it would be up to them if they would retro the authorization. It has been confirmed that the insurance does not retro...

authorizations and a refund has been requested and should be received within two weeks. The representative mentioned in the concern only spoke with the patient to arrange for delivery and has been speaking with the patient’s son when calls were made, who has never had an issue with the employee. We do apologize for any inconvenience as our goal is to ensure customer satisfaction as well as accurate billing.   Sincerely, Apria Healthcare, LLC

We have confirmed that the patient paid $146.94 twice for supplies received February 12, 2016. A refund check of $146.81 has been issued dated September 14, 2016. Thirteen cents applied to his account and the balance has been cleared. The calls received are in regards to a new order shipped September 26, 2016 to obtain payment for deductible his insurance applied. We believe all appropriate steps have been taken to resolve this issue to the patient’s satisfaction.
 
Sincerely,
 
Apria Healthcare LLC

We have reviewed the patients account and confirmed that the account is currently in payor change status for verification for claims to be submitted to the insurance -Anthem for payment.  The balance for $90.00 that was placed with State Collections Services has been removed. Therefore, the...

patient is no longer responsible for those charges and the collection agency is aware that the charges are no longer valid to ensure its removed from your credit report if applicable. At this time, the account reflects a zero balance pending payments from the insurance.  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:  
Ms. [redacted] states that Apria is billing for equipment that was picked up. She states that Apria keep’s calling and sending a driver to pick up the equipment that was returned on September 16, 2014. Ms. [redacted] state that she has made repeated phone calls to have these...

issues corrected, however they have not been
RESPONSE
We have reviewed the account history and found that Apria delivered a phototherapy light and other phototherapy equipment on September 9, 2014. Apria picked up all of the equipment on September 16, 2014, however the phototherapy light did not get picked up out of the system. Therefore it continued to bill on October 9, 2014. Apria picked up the phototherapy light from the system on October 29, 2014, and keyed an adjustment for the October 9, 2014 date of service charge.
We have confirmed that Ms. [redacted] was charged the correct 15% co-pay amount of $69.28 for the September 9, 2014 date of service on the phototherapy light. The other phototherapy equipment was placed at no charge in the system and was not charged to Ms. [redacted] or the insurance. Apria did charge the correct amount for the September 9, 2014 date of service for the phototherapy light and as of today the claim is pending with the insurance in processing the claim.
We have requested and verified with automated dialer representative that Ms. [redacted]’s telephone number has been removed from our automated dialer system.
We thank Ms. [redacted] for bringing this to our attention. We believe that we have taken all appropriate steps to correct this problem and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Billing Center Quality Specialist

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 explanation by Apria is not correct.  I was able to find the original prescription from 2008. It clearly states "Portable oxygen tank" and not concentrator. There is no reference to 24 hours per day.  On the day the portable oxygen tanks were delivered we were told that the concentrator must be accepted, even against our wishes, even though it was not prescribed.  The complaint logged by Apria on 3/5/15 was by no means the first time we complained to have the concentrator removed.  At regular intervals Mrs. [redacted] would call up Apria and try again, with the same result.  Had Apria mistakenly believed the prescription somehow mandated the concentrator they could have told us that 7 years ago and we could have had the prescription clarified. However, as you can clearly see the original prescription states a "PORTABLE TANK", which is what the patient needs, for intermittent angina. The original prescription has been uploaded for your review.In my view it is an abusive business practice to be forced to rent something that you do not want or need and were not prescribed.  If you do not accept their practice you don't get to breathe when you need the oxygen. There is no meaningful competition for Apria. I looked.My request to have the entire rental fee refunded still stands, and I request an apology from the company for its behavior towards senior citizens.Oh by the way, we have a message on our voice mail at home stating that Apria will now come and pick up the concentrator. They also added that they will no longer deliver our portable tanks and we have to now drive to Oceanside to pick them up.  I suppose this is some kind of punishment for taking our case to the Revdex.com.
Regards,
[redacted]