Performance Home Medical

I would strongly caution anyone who is considering doing business with Performance Home Medical.
My experience has been troubled, to say the least. While the service staff at the clinic level were great, their back-​office operations are horribly flawed. Their billing system is broken, no other way to put it. They invoice late (if at all), do not properly reconcile insurance payments and what’s worse, refuse to assist in cleaning up messes their business office creates.
Caveat Emptor, big time.

I don’t recommend that anyone should do business with this company. I wish I could give them negative stars for really bad customer service.
I received a bill from this company over a year after the equipment received and services were performed. It was too late to submit the claim to the insurance company so I was billed the full amount. I’m still receiving bills with late fees tacked on even though the balance agreed was paid in full.
I wonder why they can’t bill and apply payments timely. I won’t ever use this company again for anything!

I was so impressed with the staff. They helped me with a trade/​upgrade my equipment on the spot saving me bank. Thank you, I appreciate your front admin team, they rock!

My experience so far has included four visits to see their techs (initial CPAP setup, troubleshooting, and two mask fittings). The two appointments at the Kent location for mask fittings were awesome; very knowledgeable techs both times. The two appointments at two other satellite locations were pretty bad.
(1) One due to inexperience of the tech doing my initial setup & the location not having a full stock of masks. They only stock some, not all the ones like the main Kent location does, so going to the Kent location when you want to try a variety of masks is worth your while. They had none that met my needs so I ended up settling for one I didn’t like with the thought I’d order something else, or make an appointment somewhere else.
However, it turns out that as my insurance pays for DME as medically necessary (I can get a new mask basically any time, instead of waiting 6 months or whatever), I could not get a free mask swap within 30 days like other patients can. So I paid my co-​insurance for a mask I wore one night. If I had been told that, I would not have accepted a mask. However, I get that the tech can’t keep up with each patient’s insurance type. It would have been nice if they gave me a printout confirming my specific benefits, such that my DME was as medically necessary so that meant X as far as their policies (and for other folks, given them the equipment replacement schedule their insurance followed).
(2) The other due to poor customer service (just plain rude about the problem I was having with my machine).
Speaking of my setup, I got the top of the line machine at the time (Resmed S9 Autoset with heated humidifier & hose). I’ve heard some places try to pawn off non-​data capable machines. My prescription included a pressure range however so they could only give me an auto machine, and pretty much all of those are full data (one is close to full data, the Auto Escape).
I wish I could have got more practical advice from them. They were very clear about how they could be reached if I needed help, but there was little practical advice on getting used to wearing the mask. Even hearing from them that (1) it is normal to take a lot of time to get used to the machine and even use it all night, (2) it is normal to need to try several masks before finding one that works, (3) it is normal to take up to several months to see noticeable benefits would have been helpful, and (4) getting detailed info on how to try to address various problems or side effects that may occur.
Thankfully I found a great online community, as CPAP has a steep learning curve. I think a major reason people quit (50%+ of them actually) is lack of education. Knowing what sleep apnea is and how to put on the mask & turn on the machine is only the beginning.
I also had difficulties getting any information out of the company prior to getting my setup. It ended up being about 3 weeks due to who knows what… they kept saying my insurance hadn’t approved it yet but couldn’t give me detailed information about what specific stage it was at. Apparently it typically takes 1 – 3 days for insurance approval. Delays are fine, but I expect information, especially when I call.
Also, they couldn’t tell me specifics about what machine /​setup I’d get, costs, etc. They kept saying they didn’t have my file in front of them. When I asked who did, they didn’t know. They didn’t even offer up their list price for a typical setup, and couldn’t tell me what the average would be with my insurance. I understand a DME however will not know what the patient’s out of pocket cost will be as it comes down to how much the insurance will pay. This is a frustration of many patients (and I’m sure the DME as well). My insurance was also unfortunately of no help on costs, saying they couldn’t answer until after the claim went through.
I knew it would be my percent co-​insurance of a cost between that of online and their list price (about 3 times as much)…it just came down to how low my insurance negotiated price was (they never pay list). Thankfully it all worked out great, less than I was expecting. Their actual billing has been great so far, no errors. it does however take quite awhile to get a bill, even only counting time after I receive the EOB from my insurance. Its easy to pay the bill online using a credit card.
Ordering supplies is easy, either online (form on website) or by phone (I’ve got automated calls every month or so asking if I am using the machine, having problems, need supplies, etc). They arrived by USPS (free) within a few days-​awesome.
All in all, despite having complaints, I have to give ⁴⁄₅ stars, as I have heard some real horror stories for other DMEs, and I didn’t really have any unsurpassable issues with Performance Home Medical. I also like that they are a local company. My biggest suggestion is to stick to their Kent location.