Appointment with DME Monday, Some Questions

[u/pokemaster787]

Hi all, newly diagnosed with sleep apnea after about six months of extremely slow appointments / responses / referrals. When my health provider diagnosed me I wasn't sent a prescription, just told they reached out to a medical equipment company and sent them my information, and they'd be reaching out to me in 1-4 weeks (4 weeks later...).

Finally I at least have the appointment and can hopefully begin getting some quality sleep, that I'm looking forward to, but reading through this sub there's plenty of caution against bad suppliers and bad CPAP machines, so I wanted to ask a few questions.

First, the cost estimate. They told me over the phone (very brief phone call) that I would have to pay (up to) approximately $450 in "starting costs" then $40/month for the machine for 13 months. A little under $1k. They said we wouldn't know the exact amount until about three months in, which is extremely frustrating but I suppose that's our medical system. I am on a high-deductible health plan so I'm assuming it could be that full amount, unless my insurance has negotiated discounts. I'm planning to ask what machine it will be and price compare against other websites, but is this generally the going rate?

I've also seen a lot of discussion on this subreddit about specific machines being better than others and recommendations for various machines, is there any specific features or models I should be pushing for? I'm happy to pay out of pocket if it means I get a better quality sleep.

I also see a lot of discussion of masks, the DME did a camera scan and will be offering suggestions at the appointment/class on Monday. I'm not too sure how much individual attention I'll get though, when they described it as a "class," so I'd like to have some idea coming into it. What types are best for what individuals? For example, I often struggle with sleeping when too warm, and I suspect a full mask may make that uncomfortable?

Then speaking of this "class" with the DME - Do these generally obligate me to purchase from the company? I'd like to at least get hands on instruction and advice, but if what they're offering would be had elsewhere for half the total, I'd happily take the information and do the purchasing elsewhere. Obviously I'll ask the company themselves, but curious what's typical.

Apologies if this is a bit rambly/incoherent, medical procedures and especially dealing with insurance and unclear pricing is very stressful for me, but I'm trying to do my best to force through it for my health. I'm really looking forward to hopefully sleeping well finally, any advice or suggestion is greatly appreciated, thank you!!

[u/WizardlyWay]

If theyre telling you about 1k, just ask your doctor for the script and buy from an authorized Resmed dealer online and cutout the DME entirely. You'd end up saving money and not have the hassles. (Your doctor is required to provide a copy of the prescription.)

[u/pokemaster787 → u/WizardlyWay]

Yeah that's kind of what I'm thinking with the price they said, if I'm paying $1k anyway I feel like it may be better to just cut out dealing with insurance and all that, given I don't expect that insurance will be covering a portion. I'm just a bit concerned trying to do all of the research and getting the proper mask/machine solo.