Apria Healthcare Consumer Reviews - Page 5

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA -- Apria is dishonest and unethical. Like so many other customers, we were over-billed. We were told the equipment would be $34/month, and we have been charged several hundred dollars the past few months, with the 9/1/17 bill being $399! We signed up for auto debit with the understanding that they would be debiting $34/month from the account. Last month they took $138, and this month they took $399. This is so much more money than we were told we would be charged. We wish we would have paid attention to the other horrible reviews. Please take your business to a company that knows how to treat its clients.

MORENO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA -- I have been experiencing severe sleep apnea. My doctor ordered a bpap machine. Weeks go by with no word from Apria so we decided to call. We were told there was a hard hold on our account. When questioned about the charges no answer was received only if we wanted the machine we had to pay. Payment arrangements were made for a balance we did not owe. After several hours and weeks of phone calls the balance is for a machine that was returned several years ago. More phone calls, more hours on the phone and we still have to pay and no machine.

This company customer service is overseas. You talk with people that are very hard to understand and do not resolve the issues at hand. To make a long story short Apria is very unprofessional. You get no help, no answers. So people if possible do what we did - talk to your insurance company and use another DME COMPANY. Apria is all about the money aspect of your health problems and not about your health. Blessing and the best to all who read this posting.

FLORIDA -- After cleaning out my bank account by placing unauthorized charges on my debit card for a CPAP machine, Apria continues to file claims with UHC Medicare, we've had to return the machine after only 7 ½ weeks of receiving it, we'd end up homeless otherwise! It took over a month and many, many calls from me, my doctor, and UHC for Apria to even realize it had been approved for an entire month. Talk about incompetent. Do a search of "Apria billing problems" and "Apria Medicare fraud". You will be sickened by all of the results. File a complaint with anyone who you can find an address for- your insurance company, Medicare, the Social Security Administration has a fraud reporting website, your state's insurance commissioner, Dan Starck CEO of Apria, Debra Morris CFO of Apria, Stephen Schwarzman CEO of The Blackstone Group who owns Apria, the BBB, the NHCAA, even make your bank aware of it if they've placed unauthorized charges. Customer Service is nonexistent at this company and the billing practices are appalling. I'm not sure why Medicare even allows them to do business, they should have been shut down years ago. They have defrauded thousands of patients and continue to do so daily. Under HIPAA you have a right to your medical claims so you can see where all of these charges are coming from. Good luck, though, we've requested several times with no response. UHC does not even have records of all of the claims they have filed. Apria wants a credit card on file, so they can double and triple bill Medicare and steal from its patient's accounts, before Medicare is even aware of the claims. This company is pathetic and shameful.

BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA -- Very disappointed and upset with this Company and recommend those reading this use another company for your medical supply needs; After two weeks of waiting for a knee walker, I was informed by Bakersfield APRIA representative that APRIA no longer accepts Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield or TRICARE. This is abysmal. After being told initially one week ago to have my doctor refax a prescription for the walker because the initial fax order was lost, I called to followup on the order. Now after two weeks I've been informed APRIA no longer accepts Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield or TRICARE. Absolutely wrong!!! IT DEFINITELY APPEARS ON THE SURFACE THIS COMPANY IS ANTI U.S. MILITARY AND ANTI U.S. MILITARY RETIREE SINCE THEY NO LONGER ACCEPT MILITARY RELATED INSURANCE.....I RECOMMEND ALL SERVICE MEMBERS PAST AND PRESENT LODGE COMPLAINTS WITH THIS COMPANY AND TAKE THEIR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE.

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO -- My experience with Apria has been a nightmare. 1) Hold times on phone 35-60 minutes. 2) Doctor had to send order for Oxygen 3x. 3) Billing practices: They continue to bill for months when they have already been paid by Insurance. Even after numerous calls to them, Apria threatened me with a collection agency. Apria's local office faxed proof of insurance payment for last 9 months to the appropriate dept. Apria continued to bill and I continued to call for an explanation. Finally an agent told me to ignore the bills until they got it straightened out. So I did.

After a few months and hours on the phone with them, Apria sent a corrected bill for $43+ which is my deductible. Unfortunately I was out of state when the bill came. About a week later someone named Leonard called from Apria saying that my bill was seriously delinquent, and that if I didn't pay it immediately, I would be turned over to collections. I sent them a check and as soon as I return home, I will get a new company. Apria made my life miserable and wasted hours of my time.

SARASOTA, FLORIDA -- All I called for was to request an invoice because I had lost the original and I needed to send one to my insurance company. What I got was 30 minutes on the phone with 3 transfers (4 total contacts) and the last one claimed she couldn't hear me and hung up.

I started providing negative feedback the second time they asked my permission to transfer me to the department that could help me. They took the time to type in my negative feedback before making that transfer and from that point on, I was sure I was being hot-potato'd after long holds between. Oh what fun they were having with me!

Before moving to Florida, I worked in Iowa with a local hospital-owned medical supply store. My new PCP in Florida recommended Apria for my CPAP supplies. After this experience, I will seek out something more local. There seem to be lots of choices here.

LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS -- Have had CPAP for over a decade. First with small independent family owned providers, then Apria got the contract and nothing has ever gone right. While in CA I would drive to their office rather than deal with them on the phone. That was the ONLY way they could get the order right, most of the time.

Moved to Little Rock, 3 months to get an appointment, when I last called to make one, they told me I already had one for this coming Thurs, all to my surprise. I asked "well if I have an appointment what time is it?" "Oh, I'll have to find out, please wait." The usual hold time, "Your appointment is for noon." So, the computer showed an appointment I had no knowledge of, yet it did not show the time? Apria has some very serious problems.

Apria Healthcare. Sept 2, 2011, these folks were contacted by my doctor's office to supply me with an oxygen machine. I wouldn't even hear from these folks until Sept 12th. I don't remember exactly the gist of the conversation. Since they never followed up by coming to my place, I called a few days later. Evidently, they felt a need for an oximetry test (this is totally painless).

I explained I'd had such a test fairly recently. Maybe I didn't need the test? On Sept 16, a Friday, my doctor's office called me, explaining that I really need to just take another oximetry test. OK, no big deal, it's totally painless. I woke up on Mon, Sept 19, 2011, wondering why this company still had not contacted me. I called my doctor's office. They told me I was impatient, it was only the previous Friday that I'd agreed to take another oximetry test.

What they're missing: at this point 17 days have passed since Apria Healthcare had been contacted by my doctor's office. Why did it take 17 days to get to this point, a point of nothingness? Still nothing has been done. I told my doctor's office that I would not allow any of Apria Healthcare's people in my place.

I called a friend, talked about stuff. During this call, my call waiting showed an incoming call, which I didn't take. After the call with a friend was over, I followed up on the caller who wanted to interrupt my phone call. I went through a lengthy listen-to menus thing that made no sense. I finally got through to this company, it turned out they were NOT Apria Healthcare. I had to call the number, as I'd been called by this number so many times. If that number were Apria Healthcare's, then shame on me, the fault is mine, for not picking up on Apria HealthCare's calls.

Well, it was NOT Apria Healthcare that had been calling. When you wait weeks for a company to call you, you need to answer your phone pretty often, you never know when it might be that company. Then, of course, there's that feeling of profound disrespect you get, you can't believe people would treat you that way. My doctor says I should have an oxygen machine. I really don't think I need one, but occasionally my asthma does scare me. And really, whose opinion is more important in deciding to take or not take an oxygen machine? Of course, my doctor's opinion matters most.

Anyway, on Mon 19 Sep 2011, after talking to my doctor's office, then calling this recent caller, who had called so often, I realize that Apria Healthcare has made no attempt to contact me. (Except for the call on Sep 12th, on which they never followed up.)

On the Apria Healthcare website, they make a claim that they often have necessary medical equipment in a patient's home on the same day as the doctor puts in the order. When my doctor's office put in the order for an oxygen machine, it was the morning of 2 Sep 2011. Seventeen days later, these people at Apria Healthcare have done NOTHING, not even arranged for the mandatory test before I could get the machine.

For simplicity of understanding, and for me, should I go back to this, here are the dates: Apria Healthcare was first contacted by my doctor's office Friday, 2 Sep 2011. They called Sep 12, I really don't remember much about the call. A few days later, I called them, asking what they were going to do. On Monday, 19 Sep 2011, when I finally lost my patience, I did finally call Apria Healthcare and told them I wanted nothing to do with them. This was most likely a waste, as I doubt they would have EVER called, anyway. I'm fairly confident of that.

Customer "service" answered, they had no explanation for the long delay. I asked them if they had ever intended to call me. Their answer: "Of course!" I thanked her for her willingness to lie, then hung up. Yes, I was wrong. I probably should have given them a few more months to see if they would ever call.

I searched for reviews of Apria Healthcare, found some at "Yelp" but these were for Apria Healthcare out in California, in 2 different California cities. I was reading some of the most awful things -- insurance in some cases had picked up the cost, yet Apria Healthcare tried to double bill the patient. This seems to be a common complaint. There were a few other complaints of being sent wrong supplies, and even after Apria Healthcare was informed that the supplies sent were for the wrong machine, they continued to bill the patient's credit card.

Maybe I'm lucky Apria Healthcare won't help me. What price would I pay in the end? DON'T, under any circumstances, give these people a debit or credit card number if you don't need to. From the reviews I've read, they're none too honest. I don't imagine Apria Healthcare will attempt to bill me or Medicare for providing me with absolutely nothing, but I'll be watching Medicare statements closely.

I would turn them in for fraud in a heartbeat. I can probably survive the lack of an oxygen machine. Can you, or the people you care for, survive without their medical equipment/supplies? Ask yourself that question. To help you remember the name of this company, to hopefully avoid them, think of a little orange apricot. Then think "Apria", as in "Apria Healthcare".

SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA -- I never thought a company would (seemingly) set out to screw up simple supply orders until I worked with Apria. They may have won first place for the worst customer service in the healthcare industry. My complaint is not due to a few botched up orders, but over 30 in the last 9 years. I order CPAP supplies, such as masks, filters, chinstraps, etc. Most of these are repeat orders. Not one time in over 30 attempts have they sent me a complete order correctly! These guys must have to work hard at screwing up orders! Please understand, if I don't use this CPAP (a machine that pumps air in my lungs when I sleep), I could have a stroke and die. A few quick examples:

On my order three months ago, I mentioned the problems I have had and requested that they get the order right for the first time. You'd think that would assure a correct order, right? I ask them to send me the blue neoprene chinstrap, NOT the white 4" one. They see past orders, identify the correct strap and orders it for me. What do I get but the white one!

I need filters for my CPAP machine. I have dust allergies and have sneezing attacks. I order the filters and they assure me they will be there in two to three days. I call to complain "I haven't received the filters after a week - I'm beginning to wake up sneezing." They say "the filters are ordered and should arrive any day." Another week goes by, same response, any day now. Three weeks go by and I'm not getting much sleep because I wake up at night sneezing, blowing my nose. They say "it should arrive in the next day or two."

A full month later, I'm waking up with a bloody nose and my mask full of blood! I tell them to "do whatever it takes–GET IT HERE!" I call national Apria customer service number. They apologize profusely and assure me they will have the Santa Rosa, CA office looked into and that this is an isolated incident. Here we are, FIVE WEEKS LATER, I ask where my filters are – THEY HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN ORDERED!

After sending me the wrong filter twice, I email them with the exact part number, taken from the package. I even take pictures of the filters they sent me that were wrong (pink and yellow) and show them the right one that's white. What do they send me but more of the pink and yellow ones!

The last time I got the Northern California manager to look into my need for a BiPAP machine (I want to be sure I get the right one for my needs). He assures me he'll take care of it. A week later, he's too busy, so he refers me to "his expert in BiPAP machines". After going round and round with this lady for 45 minutes, it turns out she doesn't know much about BiPAP machines at all and I know much more than she knows! I don't have time to go on about this, this is crazy!

They have had three managers of the office in Santa Rosa in the last three years, still they promise me the world and assure this will not happen to me again, but each time it does! Even the people who work there think that they are a joke! Now I see that others have had the same kind of experience elsewhere in the US. God, help them!

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK -- I am going to detail here some of the unfortunate dealings I have had with Apria. The long and short of it, however, is this: there is a terrible disconnect between the customer service representatives who take orders, the dispatch offices, and the drivers. Moreover, the Brooklyn dispatcher in particular is obnoxious and unhelpful.

My baby was born with respiratory distress syndrome and was discharged from the hospital on oxygen. Because of foul-ups from Apria, her discharge had to be postponed by five days. Here are the series of the events that led to that postponement: The deliveryman from Apria called one morning to announce that he would be arriving at my house “soon.” My wife and I waited for hours, even though we were supposed to be at the hospital with our baby. Finally, at around 4 pm, he arrived, but with the wrong materials. He had a tank for an adult and a regulator for an adult. We explained that these were the wrong materials. He left with them, and we left for the hospital.

At 6:30 pm, another man named ** called to say that the deliveryman was outside our door in Brooklyn. We were at the hospital and no one had called to tell us someone would be coming back that day. We informed ** that we could not be there in time to take the materials (the hospital is more than one hour away from our home). He promised that someone would arrive on Monday morning with the proper materials.

Monday morning arrived, and no one showed up. I called the Brooklyn dispatch office and spoke to a brusque "gentleman" who I believe is the manager of that office. I asked him where the driver was; he informed me that the driver would arrive "anytime" that day. I told him that I had been told by ** on Friday that the driver would arrive in the morning. He informed me that I was mistaken: supposedly no one is ever told what time deliveries will come.

Later that afternoon, the materials arrived (again, forcing my wife and me to lose an entire day with our daughter in the hospital). Again, the delivery materials were for an adult: "M" tanks with regulators that deliver no less than 2 liters of oxygen. As every prescription from the hospital and every bill from Apria makes clear, my baby is supposed to be receiving no more than .2 liters of oxygen. The adult delivery system does not work for her.

I called Apria to complain and was promised that the proper materials would be delivered – the next day. The next morning, a respiratory therapist arrived, again without warning (luckily we were at home), with only a pulse-oximeter. She had no new oxygen tanks or other equipment. She explained to us how the pulse-oximeter worked, but without any of the proper materials, my wife and I had no idea what was to be done. She called the Brooklyn dispatcher to inquire about what was happening and put him onto the phone to me. I complained about the conduct of Apria, and he began shouting at me to quiet down. At that point I hung up on him.

Eventually we received the proper equipment, with the help of the Elmsford branch manager. I thought that we had finally figured out how to deal with Apria. This past weekend, I again had to order additional oxygen tanks plus a stand for the E tanks. I called Apria's emergency number. I was told I should have called on Friday, not Sunday. I said fine, but placed the order: 3 E tanks and 6 M tanks and one stand.

On Monday morning, someone called to say that they could not deliver the tanks before Tuesday. I insisted that they deliver the tanks on Monday. They agreed to do so. So on Monday afternoon, a driver showed up at my house. He had three D tanks, 3 M tanks, and no stand. I asked him to leave all of the tanks and to take the empties. He would not take the empty E tanks because he was not delivering any full E tanks.

I then called the Westchester office to place my order (3 E tanks plus a stand plus 3 M tanks) again. The woman who took the order was very helpful. This afternoon, a driver showed up at my apartment with an M tank and a stand. My wife (I wasn't home) protested that this was not the proper order but the driver insisted on leaving it. She pointed out that the M tank is for adults and that my baby needs less than .2 liter of oxygen. He insisted on leaving it.

When I got home, I called the Westchester office one more time. I placed the order one more time. A driver then arrived – less than one hour ago – with… another M tank! I had to explain to him the situation. Thankfully, he took the M tank away and gave me the proper materials. So, there are two problems here that need remedying:

1. The Brooklyn dispatcher. As I mentioned above, he is extremely rude. He has a terrible reputation in Apria itself. Several of the drivers informed me that he views the customer as the enemy, and some of the dispatchers in Westchester claimed that they had received multiple complaints.

2. The disconnect between Apria customer service representatives, the dispatch office, and the drivers. Every single time I place an order, I end up having to repeat myself to various individuals. Every single time, I invariably receive the wrong materials and have to replace the order. Every single time, I have to wait for hours on end, sometimes two days, sometimes three days, for drivers that show up with the wrong materials.

Not only is this frustrating to me as a customer, but it must cost Apria many dollars to keep sending out drivers over and over again. It also must cost CIGNA (my insurance provider) as the contracting company, many dollars. Simply put, I think Apria is probably the single most badly managed company I've ever had to deal with.

Apria's poor customer relations and bad management could form the basis of a lawsuit, particularly since life-sustaining materials are being delivered in such a shoddy fashion. I wrote to Apria's management about the above issues, but received no response.