Avera Home Medical Equipment

Received Revdex.com complaint ***. Spoke with staff regarding issue. Customer with complaint called branch airing his concerns regarding feeling he was being charged twice for the same item. Staff explained that in order to bill, all insurances require the DME to separate the headgear and mask into 2 separate billing codes in order to be paid. I called this customer's insurance on *** to verify this information and found it to be accurate. Call reference number is ***. I also verified that there is a contractual agreement in place with this provider meaning we accept the payment allowed by the payor source. All product pricing is determined by PDAC, in other words the government assigns a billing code to individual products and pricing in determined by that code. There are a total of 16 locations within our business footprint and all locations charge the same price for the same products. I believe the charges being disputed by the customer are being applied toward his insurance deductible which has not been satisfied resulting in out-of-pocket expenses for this customer.

Denise Received call from *** with ***. Patient's husband filed complaint with Revdex.com which first went to ***, then *** and finally to AHME stating he purchased a new POC but we sold him a used one. He wants a full refund. I called patient's husband and asked him to bring POC in for me to assess. Neil was agitated when he arrived because he felt we were not truthful. He presented the receipt which reflected a purchase price of $***. I explained that the purchase price for a new machine would have been upwards of $*** and assured him we did not charge him new price for used equipment. I offered to send POC in to vendor to have evaluated and check on possible warranty. He said we only gave him a 30 day warranty which I told him was typical for the sale of used equipment. He said the yellow and red lights come on when his wife sleeps and sometime during the day. I explained that this POC was not intended for use with sleep and explained how the POC pulse dose needs to be triggered by breathing through the nose. We evaluated the POC again in my office and found it to be fine. I questioned why insurance was not involved with paying for Donna's O2. Neil stated "it was that ____, ___, doctor at ***!" I discovered that she has an appointment with Dr. *** on ***. We loaned him a *** @ n/chg so Donna would not be without O2 until we can determine if she will qualify for O2 through Medicare. I called Tyler @ YMC to confirm her appointment and explained the situation. He put a note on her chart to ask about qualifying her. My response to the Revdex.com: I placed a phone call to the customer and requested that the equipment in question be brought to my office. I will check functionality. Equipment was checked by technician approx. 1 week ago and found it to be functional. I requested the customer bring in receipt to verify date of purchase and amount paid. I will research warranty status if applicable and repair/replace options. Customer did admit he was informed at the time of sale of a 30 day warranty from purchase date. I received first notification of the issue on ***.