1. You don’t have health insurance.

This is a no-brainer. If you don’t have health insurance, but have sleep apnea, you will need to pay cash for your machine and supplies.

If you’re having a hard time making ends meet, check out the organizations listed in this post that offer free or low-cost CPAP and supplies.

2. You have a high deductible health plan.

Many Americans now have higher deductibles to meet before their health insurance benefits kick in (check out our guide for understanding your health insurance here). While we understand that having a higher deductible usually means lower monthly premiums and that some benefits, like preventative care, are covered before you meet your deductible, almost all plans require you meet your entire individual or family deductible before CPAP and supplies, or sleep studies, are covered. Especially at the beginning of the year, this can mean paying entirely out of pocket for your new CPAP and supplies.

Even if you have insurance, you may prefer to shop online and pay cash for CPAP and supplies. While most online suppliers will not bill your health insurance (most of them aren’t contracted with any insurances at all) some will and many will provide you with a list of codes so that you can submit the bill to your insurance. While you won’t receive anything back from your insurance, you will receive “credit” towards your deductible. Especially if you or another family members expects to use your insurance throughout the year, you want to make sure every dollar you spend out of pocket is counted towards your deductible (learn about in-network vs. out-of-network deductibles and coverage differences here).

You should also consider using your HSA (health savings account) or FSA (flexible spending account) funds to pay for CPAP and supplies online. Save your receipts!

3. Dealing with your health insurance is too complicated.

Enough said.

Some patients choose to pay for certain procedures or supplies with cash because they don’t want to deal with the hassle of authorizations, co-insurances, EOBs, blah blah blah.

4. You don’t like the provider your health insurance is contracted with.

Your health insurance company, especially if it’s an HMO or medical group, may only authorize certain providers for your CPAP and supplies. If you have limited options and don’t like the customer service, locations or product offerings from the contracted provider, you’re stuck.

5. You want to order your supplies online or from a specific vendor.

We hear from many patients who would rather pay cash to have a CHOICE about where they receive their CPAP and supplies. Some have had a bad experience with their insurance’s contracted provider or have heard from family or friends about their great experience with another provider.

What’s most important to you when selecting a CPAP and supplies provider?

Is there another reason why you’re paying cash rather than using your insurance?

We’re contracted (that means in-network) with most PPO and many HMO insurances for sleep studies, CPAP machines and replacement supplies. We’ll also happily sell you CPAP or supplies at our cash rates.

You can check out our list of contracted insurances here or order supplies online here:

Order supplies

Should I Pay Cash for my CPAP Machine and Supplies?