Managing Costs With My CPAP

One of my largest medical expenses, besides my prescriptions, is my continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. We are constantly looking for ways to save the most money with our insurance. Here are my suggestions about how to manage CPAP costs.

How to manage CPAP costs?

We look at other saving plans when my husband’s company has open enrollment between the secondary Mondays in November and December. Plans are always changing.

After our out-of-pocket maximum increases to $6,500, we are so close to being a high deductible plan. It has an out-of-pocket of just a thousand dollars more at $7,500. Changing to a high deductible plan allows us to open HSA (Health Savings Account) versus what we currently use; an FSA (Flexible Spending Account).

Flexible spending account

With the FSA we take the maximum allotment out which is $2,750. But if we change to a high deductible plan, we could open an HSA which will allow us to put away $7,300.

My machine has lived a good life so I keep in mind that I will need to replace it in 2023. On a tight budget, I compare costs for my parts and I order some via our medical supply company. Other parts I’ve found are cheaper out of pocket on Amazon.

Our FSA usually only covers the CPAP supplies for the first half of the year. Having the FSA, we have the full amount available to cover those expenses through June. With the FSA plan, we have the option to pay for it and get reimbursed or to submit the charges and have them play the medical supply company directly.

Payment plans

The company we go through prefers to get paid directly. So we pay them and in a week, get reimbursed for the charges.

Also, I know right now the expenses are cheaper because the machine has been paid off. But I also know that starting when I pick up the new machine, I’ll have to pay a percentage of what it cost to essentially rent to own the machine. My current machine was paid off in 3 years. With the machine being 7 years old, I’m eligible for a new one.

Medical dedicated saving account

Our FSA is planned to cover half of the medical expenses. Having such large medical bills, we had to learn to start budgeting the expenses and saving ahead of time.

We budgeted an additional $2,400 in savings to help cover the remaining medical cost. We didn’t want to save our money in our main bank account, so we opened a separate savings account with an online bank that offers a higher interest rate than our regular bank account. We budgeted a little extra because I never know when I’ll break a mask or headset before the insurance will replace it. Once we figured out the amount knowing that my husband’s pay is bi-weekly, we have $100 deposited each pay period into the separate savings account.

Medical expenses are unavoidable

Medical expenses are something that we can’t avoid. Having fibromyalgia, sleep apnea, migraines and degenerative disks all are expensive. To try to prepare for the year ahead, we have budgeted so that we are using the FSA first, and then we have an emergency savings account that is dedicated strictly for medical expenses.

Medical plans change each year, so we also look at ways to save by changing policies. When looking at the policy, we look at what the coverage is for sleep studies and CPAP equipment. We try to save the most when can, knowing that coverage is necessary for my sleep apnea.

Additional ways I save

I spend a lot of time comparing costs and when possible, I save by ordering from Amazon. I also use a cash back site like Rakuten to get cash back when shopping for supplies.

How do you manage CPAP costs and save for medical expenses? Please share your story or comment below.