posted
Anyone have any experience good or bad that they'd like to share??
I fired my home care provider (Sentara, which is a local agency) b/c they're dumb. That's probably the nicest way to phrase it.
I had them back in 2005 when I was first diagnosed and I had a bad experience. I only returned to them because they were the only agency in my area that were already ACS providers (Worker's Comp). Unfortunately, they disregarded all of my worker's comp info and tried to bill BC/BS. Of course they wouldn't pay, so they sent me bill after bill.
5 weeks ago they called me up and told me that they were calling the Department of Labor for pre-approval and they denied services. Leaving me with a bill for 8 months of home care. (Let's not even start with the fact that they were trying to get PRE-approval for services I was already 8 months into).
I got ahold of my DOL claims examiner who said that there was no ICD-9 code for my treatment and I needed my doctor to write a note to clear things up - which I did, a week later.
Come to find out, the home care billing department has figured out how to get BC/BS to pay and sent me bills for astronomical co-pays. I am so fed up with them now that I can't think straight. Monday I uncovered the fact that the home health agency sent the wrong diagnosis (Lyme Meningitis - which I was treated for in '05, instead of the approved condition - Lyme DISEASE) to the worker's comp billing department, which is why I have to do all this leg work.
In March, I had an incompetent nurse come out who got close to my PICC line with scissors and cut it (that's why I now have a port). While my port was still brand new, a nurse came out and accessed it - I was in serious pain when she pushed the saline, but she insisted the port was correctly accessed. I began to infuse and my arm started throbbing - then I grew a third boob. Obviously, I wasn't accessed. It took 6 nurses and a trip back to the hospital to access my port. They put the wrong doctors name on my precriptions, give me the wrong meds... Seriously, they suck.
This is what I'd like to know about Apria (all the negatives ). I'd like to know if I'd be safe with them. We're moving from Virginia Beach to the Seattle area and figured it made more sense to choose a nationwide provider (though I am rather self-sufficient the recent clotting of my port raised eyebrows and my dr is ordering me to begin home care services again).
To anyone who has ever used Apria - please post your thoughts...
-------------------- Sometimes when I say �Oh, I�m fine� I want someone to look me in the eyes & say �tell the truth�
posted
Incompetency level is inversely proportional to accountability. Since accountability is low, incompetency is rampant.
Therefore switching providers may or may not solve the problem.
My experience with Apria: the employees are polite but the company is disorganized. The billing is confused, taking so long to credit on-time payments to the account that it always appears that you are paying late.
Apria was to call to schedule delivery of equipment. Instead they just showed up with it. I've since used and cancelled the equipment, and they were supposed to call to schedule pick up. They haven't. They also haven't picked up the equipment.
Posts: 727 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2006
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