Apria Healthcare

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

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

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.

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

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]

We have reviewed the account and determined that the patient has been refunded for charges made in which wasn’t patient responsibility, however a refund for overdraft fees would not be provided due to the patient authorizing automatic billing for any charges on the account. An itemized statement has been mailed to the patient to reflect invoiced amounts and payments applied. We believe that all appropriate steps have been taken to resolve this matter. Sincerely,  Apria Healthcare, LLC.

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

Resolution Narrative:ITEM # 1: Mr. [redacted] states that he was informed the CPAP machine would cost $843.12 and he authorized the payment to be charged to his bank account. However, Apria charged an additional $787.26, which he states he did not authorize. He states that he needs a receipt explaining the...

charges to get reimbursed by his employer, which he does not have. RESPONSE Mr. [redacted] simultaneously filed a complaint with Apria’s corporate office along with the complaint to the Revdex.com. We called and discussed the account with Mr. [redacted] on November 24, 2014 and apologized for the second charge of $787.26 being charged in error. Mr. [redacted] informed us that he had already filed a dispute with his bank for the $787.26 charge. Once Apria receives the dispute from the bank, the $787.26 will be recouped back to the bank. We explained to him the charges for the CPAP unit and supplies that he received on November 13, 2014. Apria charge him for his co-pay and deductible amount because we had been informed that his yearly deductible had not been met. As of today we are waiting on UHC to process the claims, once that has been completed we will apply the remaining amount of Mr. [redacted]’s $843.12 payment to the invoices and send him an itemized statement for his records to submit to his employer. Mr. [redacted] stated that he had not received his heated tubing; therefore we followed up with him on November 25, 2014 regarding the supplies. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and have used the errors that occurred as a training opportunity. Mr. [redacted] has a direct Apria representative’s phone number for any questions or issues that he should have. Sincerely,[redacted] Billing Center Quality Specialist

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

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.

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] 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

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

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]

Revdex.comSan Diego, CAAttn: [redacted]Dispute and Information Analyst Lead[redacted]Re: Apria Healthcare Inc.: [redacted] STOCKTON, CA-[redacted]Revdex.com Complaint ID#: [redacted]Dear Ms. [redacted]:This letter is in response to the complaint referenced above submitted by Ms. [redacted]to the Revdex.com. We apologize for any miscommunication on our part that mayhave resulted in this complaint. Below is a brief description of the complaint matter and ourresponse.Item# 1:Ms. [redacted] stated she informed Apria Healthcare of her insurance change in November 2012and we failed to update the information in our system resulting in her daughter receiving a bill for$186.78.RESPONSE:We have reviewed Ms. [redacted] daughter account and confirmed we have no record oraccessible call available on file that reflect that she provided her new insuranceinformation Cigna in November 2012. We billed Ms. [redacted] BS OF CA insuranceplan incorrectly for date of service April 171h, 2013 because we did not obtain herupdated insurance information until September 16th, 2013. We were unable to submitclaims to her new insurance Cigna for date of service April 17th, 2013 because the claimwas past CCX 45 day timely filing limit. At this time Ms. [redacted] is responsible for theopen balance of $186.78 that is now in collections after being outstanding for more thansix months. We do apologize for the miscommunication as our goal is to ensure customersatisfaction as well as accurate billing.Sincerely,[redacted]Billing Center Quality Specialist

We have reviewed patient account and confirmed that she received the oxygen equipment on September 8th, 2015.  We received a discontinuation order for the oxygen from the doctor on September 10th, 2015 and the pickup order was processed but then canceled because a respiratory therapist home...

visit was required before pickup. When the respiratory therapist spoke with patient on September 15th, 2015 stated she wasn’t using the oxygen but would contact our office when she wanted the equipment picked up after contacting her doctor. On October 13th, 2015 patient called to schedule pick up and it was scheduled and completed on October 19th, 2015. Our billing is setup to bill on a monthly basis and even though the equipment was not in use patient still had the equipment in her possession resulting in the charges being patient responsibility. 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], where they try to mislead the Revdex.com by indicating completely false dates.The APRIA Healthcare is trying to mislead the origin of the complain by indicating false dates. This is the real timeline:06/26/2015: Initial Order was sent by FAX 06/26/2015: Called customer support of Apria to make sure Fax was received and Apria was going to order the Pump. During that call I very specifically mentioned that we were in a hurry, specially because Fourth of July was coming and that might delay their operations. At this time the pump was promissed for July 2nd.06/29/2015: Called again Apria Healthcare Bakersfield to check status. At that point I was informed again that pump would arrive June 2nd06/30/2015: Called again Apria Healthcare Bakersfield to check status. At that point I was informed again that pump would arrive June 2nd07/02/2015: Called Apria, informed that pump was not going to arrive that day. PROMISED AGAIN FOR JULY the 6th. 07/06/2015: Called Apria and I was informed that pump was not going to arraive the 6th and that it will arrive now the 8th. THIS DAY SEVERAL CALLS WERE MADE TO FIND AN AMICABLE SOLUTION. NO ONE WANTED TO RESPOND TO MY INQUIRES WITH A SOLUTION. ASKED FOR MANAGER OF CUSTOMER SUPPORT AND I WAS DENIED TALKING WITH ANYONE WITH RESPONSIBILITY IN CUSTOMER SUPPORT. At this time and seeing not response on any of the customer phone numbers an email was sent with the only solution we would accept.Note that the email were sent to all listed customer support email addresses ([redacted],[redacted]) including the current president of APRIA HEALTHCARE and we were completely ignored[redacted]
 July 6, 2015Apria HealthcarePatient Satisfaction[redacted] Dear Apria Healthcare Re: [redacted], DOB [redacted] On June 26, 2015 I submitted all the required paperwork to request a doctor prescribed electric breast pump for [redacted] whom had a scheduled C-section on July 2nd 2015.  On following calls on the same June 26, 2015 we were promised a MQ9120 Drive Medical GentleFeed Dual Channel Breast Pump to be picked up in the ApriaHealthcare Bakersfield office on the same day of the scheduled C-section on July 2nd 2015. Unfortunately, the pickup date has been slipping every time I call customer support, being the new scheduled pickup date for Wednesday July 8th. All these delays only show a disrespectful lack of urgency and total disrespect on the pain and suffering of someone that just had a major surgery and required the mentioned items on the same day of the surgery. The response of Apria Healthcare is totally unacceptable and as of this moment the only resolution I will accept for this is an immediate delivery of a medical grade breast pump by tomorrow July 7, 2015 in the morning on my residence at the address above. I look forward to your reply and a resolution to my problem as specified in the paragraph above before the end of the day tomorrow July 7, 2015 before seeking help from a consumer protection agency, Revdex.com and [redacted]  We never received answer to our requests or to this email. On July 7, 2015 in the afternoon I had to purchase an equivalent pump from a chain store.Again Apria Healthcare has a complete disregard of patients and their pain and suffering. Their customer support never responds to customer unless things are taken to higher authorities like the Revdex.com. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Item # 1: Ms. [redacted] states that she has received a statement for a nebulizer that she had been informed by letter that had been paid in full. She states that she has tried to call but the hold times are very long and has not been able to reach anyone. She wants the bill dropped or tell her why she...

owes.       RESPONSE: We have reviewed Ms. [redacted]’s account and found that she received a nebulizer on October 7, 2013. Apria submitted claims to [redacted] and [redacted] on her behalf for payment. The nebulizer was converted to sale on November 7, 2014, however at the time there were still pending claims with [redacted] and [redacted], which we had not been paid for the nebulizer.? On March 11, 2015, we received notice from [redacted] that Ms. [redacted] had not met her spend down on the January, February and March 2014 claims. Therefore, the balance of $37.16 was referred as Ms. [redacted]’s responsibility.? We apologize for our hold times at this time, we are aware of the issues and have a plan in place to help with the hold times.   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

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.
[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution. Please respond in this space ONLY]
As of 3-19-16, I have not received information from Apria indicating where my payments have been applied to my account.
Regards,
[redacted]