Anyone dealing with CCS Medical?

I am glad that your stuff showed up. I agree that it is more management than the lower end customer service people - they have to follow the rules of those that sign their paycheck.

I logged onto my insurance site yesterday to look at something on my medical claims that I had mailed in. I noticed that CCS had tried submitting the bills for infustion sets & Dexcom sensors for July and Aug thru my medical and not DME so they were rejected. They submitted them twice because they were rejected the first time so I know they will get rejected the second time. I called CCS billing department and was told they were medical not DME. I told them to look at how they billed April & June that got paid thru DME. They are not medical stuff and will just keep getting rejected.

I have heard that they have a high employee turnover rate so I guess that is part of their problem also.

If ccs has a high employee turnover rate, then maybe that reflects back on how your supplies were billed incorrectly. New employees might not know the right code to put the bill under, therefore getting rejected several times in a row. Billing errors are hard to correct because it seems that once they are ‘in the system’ they stay there for a long time. I actually feel sorry for the people that have to work there because all they are doing is trying to make a living everyday just like everyone else.

My husband overheard my conversation with the head of the insulin pump department at ccs and he said "If I were to speak to a customer like that person spoke to you, my Boss would fire me on the spot - no ifs ands or buts - I would be out the door immediately. But his Boss is customer oriented and goes out of his way to make things right for that customer.

Hopefully, they will look back at the ones they did get paid for and see how to correct it.

Sor far, I haven’t had anyone be mean to me. When I said how what they were doing made no sense, the reps I have talked to agreed but said their hands were tied. Hopefully, management wakes up and sees that they are losing customers by how they are doing things. My pulling my account from them lost them $9k in sales from Dexcom sensors alone and that does not include pump supplies. Since they billed my insurance $775 for something Dexcom sales to cash customers for $300, you know that was a nice little profit margin on those!

That is the way the company operates! I am so frustrated with this company! I’m on a paradigm pump and they auto send my supplies. I called them on 9/10 to find out when my supplies would be shipped. The young man told me he was shipping them that day USPS Priority…I would have them on the 13th or 14th. Since I only had 2 infusion sets, I was concerned, but if they came on the 13th, there would be no problem. They came on the 17th…were shipped from CCS on the 14th. When I received the supplies on the 17th, they sent the wrong infusion sets (some other brand, not even Medtronic!). I called CCS and spoke with them…she was very polite, told me she would send me the sofsets overnight…well, no supplies the next day…or today! I call today, this young man was rude, and said that my order had not been placed on Friday, and that my supplies were shipped on the 14th. So, right now, I’m waiting on my supplies once again…Day 5 of no pump…and they are supposed to be here tomorrow! I have had more problems with CCS in the last year than I have had in the 10 years I’ve had my pump! Does anyone have another supplier they use that is reliable?

How are you handling your insulin w/o a pump? I’m on my last set (ordered Aug 26th from MM) and am wondering how I’ll manage with Lantus…dosage, etc. The fault was not MM entirely. Medicare requires a doctor’s appt. during the 3 months before shipping. I didn’t know that and have been back and forth with doc - MM for two weeks.

I’m doing a shot at bedtime of lantus (first time used) and doing my bolus with novolog. Because I haven’t been on shots in 10 years so it’s been a shot in the dark, no pun intended, so I’m increasing my dosage every evening until it gets where it should. Started out at 350 in the mornings now I’m at 200 in the mornings. Maybe by the time I get my supplies, I’ll have my sugar in good control!!

Not liking CCS much, they sent me a letter asking for my Doctors. name { have been on the pump for two years they have my Doctors name and #s} letter said they tried to call…?? I have caller ID CCS never called. They are going to cut me off if I don’t respond…??.

When I last spoke with ccs the person said they have to verify the Dr’s name and number once a year even if they already have that information. Makes no sense to me, but that is what I was told. Sorry about your trouble.

I have had nothing but trouble with CCS!! Everything that has been said here, I have gone through. I am in a battle with them right now over the balance I owe them. I send them payments, but they never get applied to my account. It takes phone call after phone call after phone call to get them applied. It took over 3 months (after my check cleared my bank) for them to apply it to my account. Each person you talk to blames the previous person. I am on Humana (via medicare) and at the time CCS was the only provider on my plan that carried minimed pump supplies. I am trying to get a new pump (believe it or not, I have a 512) and CCS is being awful about it. They want my 20% upfront, or in 4 months with interest. I can’t afford my 20% spread over that period of time. But every time I talk to them about it, the amount I would owe changes. I don’t trust them enough to get the pump from them. And I can NOT order directly from mimimed. My pump is having all kinds of problems, and any day I expect it to completely quit working. I am having control issues, and am thinking some of it may be due to the pump not working correctly.
Good luck in dealing with them. If you find any “magic” that works with them, let us all know.

In view of the fact that information given seems to change with each person you speak with, I would definitely write down the date, time and the name of the person you speak to each time. At least that way you have some kind of record. If you send any other kind of communication like a check or a letter, send it “registered mail” or the kind of mail where someone has to ‘sign’ for it. This might help prove that CCS did indeed receive your payment.

Do you have any other suppliers to choose from? Could your doctor help you in securing the name of any organization that might be able to help you with the financial part of it? I don’t know the name of the group, but I thought someone else might remember who it is that helps people with ‘medical equipment’ that they need but just can’t pay for. I’m truly sorry you’ve had so much trouble with CCS. The way they treat people is probably one of the reasons that they filed bankruptcy. They don’t seem to make sound financial decisions.

In New York, Medicare mandates that you see your diabetologist once every three months. I have noticed that CCS medical asks me for the date of my last visit on the renewal forms that they send me. I also received information from CCS regarding changes after January1, 2011 in certain areas of the country. New York is not among those areas. I am calling CCS to be sure that nothing changes for me. Other than that, and a rough beginning with CCS, everything is going smoothly, and they confirmed that I would be receiving my next shipment on October 20, 2010–I’ll see, I guess. Medicare does not make it easy. I had heard from Medtronics that Liberty is one of their suppliers, but that was over a year ago when I was having trouble with CCS. I’ll keep you posted.
Best, Judith

I spoke with Patricia at CCS yesterday. She called to let me know my new Revel would be delivered tomorrow. I asked her if CCS would be sending my supplies from now on. When she answered, “Yes,” I said, “Well, I’ll have to tell you what is going around on a diabetes forum…” She said that every supplier has to conform to Medicare requirements (3-month rule), and that if it turns out I need more pump supplies to cover the 3 months, my doctor can write a different prescription. We’ll see how it works out. I’ve certainly had a time with Medtronic and my supplies, and it was really because of the Medicare rules. (I just hope Obama-care won’t say when I reach 70 in 2 years that I’m no longer eligible for Medicare to pay for “frivilous” pump supplies!!!)…Sorry, I know…no politics rule on this site, just couldn’t resist!
Cheers, Margaret

It is not a matter of conforming to Medicare rules - it is their policy to not ship stuff in time for people to get it. They originally shipped my pump on June 11th. Ninety days was actually up on Sep 8th but CCS goes from the 11th to the 11th - it did not matter that both July & Aug had 31 days not 30. Then because Sep 11th fell on the weekend, they said that I could not even call them until Monday to start the order. That was day 95 for what was shipped and billed to my insurance company as a 90 day supply. When they shipped my Dexcom supplies, they shipped on a Wed and I did not get them until about 6:30 Mon evening - if you add another 5 days shipping time to the 95 days, you are talking about waiting 100 days for your supplies.

The company I use for my strips allows me to call 7 days before my 90 days is up and they ship them in time so that I don’t run out. It is CCS’s policy, not Medicare. I was not trying to change the quantity, I just wanted them shipped on time so I don’t run out.

I’ve used CCS for years & have never had anything but friendly customer service reps. Probably you got someone having a really bad day or something… I know it’s VeRY frustrating to have to deal w/unfriendly reps, but I would say that this was just a fluke. It’s certainly not been the norm for me. I had trouble b/c my endo suddenly took on patients of two other dr in his group and was putting me off over 5 months for my medicare-required every-3-month checkup which originally was schedule for three days later!! Which you know meant I wouldn’t be able to get my supplies! I was furious & panicked but the CCS rep I called about it said, “Well, let’s just call them back & see what this is all about” so she & I both were on phone w/dr office & the receptionist was not nice at all, argued & we’d have to talk w/the scheduler, put us on hold. So while on hold, the CCS rep and I talked and decided it was useless to keep dealing w/the endo, I asked if I could see my GP for the checkup, she said yes, so I got in w/GP one day before the deadline to get supplies. whew! I really like CCS for that kind of reason. They’ve helped me w/other stuff too.

Yeah, that’s not CCS’s doing, it’s stupid Medicare. G’ment programs never make sense. Go ahead & reply b/c it’s not unique to you. Hope that helps.

I’m glad you have had a good relationship with ccs…however not everyone is as fortunate as you are. I was told by the head of their ‘insulin pump supplies’ that I should not call her!!! Never mind she is the one who gave me her personal extension number at the company. She said her job was only to get me on the pump and not to deal with any of the issues that happen after I started the pump. I don’t call that being “customer friendly”.

I agree with Mayumi - not everyone dealing with CCS is as fortunate as you. I did not have too much problems with them being rude, but I have serious problems with a supply company that sends me a 90 day supply, bills my insurance for a 90 day supply and then tells me I am allowed to call on day 95 to place my order. There is no reason I should run out of pump supplies every 3 months because of their stupid shipping policy. No other supply company that I have dealt with is like that. They billed my insurance $600 for Dexcom sensors that cost $300 elsewhere. My insurance was dumb enough to pay that then CCS turned around and billed $775 3 months later when Dexcom did NOT raise their prices. That company should not be in the medical supply business. I am glad I didn’t get insulin from them - I would be dead waiting for that to show up.

Hi, Kelly,
I have original medicare as my primary insurance and then AARP supplemental policy so that I do not pay anything for my pump supplies or for my insulin–medicare takes care of it and then AARP picks up the rest. My costs for those insurances are very high so I investigated changing to an HMO or something like that. I did notice that when I get the billing information, the EOBs, from AARP, medicare always cuts the amounts substantially that CCS charges. CCS charges $90 for one bottle of insulin and almost $20 for two batteries and I know that at my local pharmacy I can buy insulin for $35-40–and two batteries do not cost $20. .

The companies that I met with about switching from medicare as my primary told me that I would have to pay 20% of what CCS charges as a co-pay for my pump supplies and insulin. When I told them that CCS overcharges substantially, they told me that they just pay what CCS bills and I would have to pay the 20% co-pay. Outrageous! Needless to say, I did not switch insurers.

Honestly, I could not have the pump if I had to pay 20% of $12,000 to $14,000 every year for the insulin and supplies. But it confirms and validates your concerns with the high charges for your supplies.
Judith

I am on a Medicare supplemental plan and I have to pay 15% but I have a $500 cap for DME supplies. Most of the stuff, they have fixed prices for but they don’t for the Dexcom sensors and basically just paid what CCS charges. I just got my pump in June and I compared what my insurance paid to what Animas had listed for prices on their site and most of that stuff was at least reasonable. It made me sick when I saw the Dexcom stuff. I just ordered them from Liberty Medical today so I will be anxious to see what they charge compared to CCS. My insurance did not pay for the batteries that CCS sent. They had them labeled as Animas batteries and they were Energizers. I was glad to see they did not pay that. They sent those to me without telling me they were sending them.

Judith - You asked on my comment page how things were going with CCS. At this point I’m trying to get my pump supplies and test strips from Medtronic and switch from CCS. However my Endocrinologist is dragging his feet big time. I’ve contacted his medical office 5 times in the past month to try and clarify various items necessary for the changeover.

For example, as you may know Medicare limits your test strips to 3 a day unless the doctor overrides that number with a valid reason. My particular Endo seems to think that maybe 6 times a day is enough. I’m all but arguing with him that 6 times is NOT enough and I want 10. Even 10 isn’t enough sometimes…when you are hypo - don’t you want to test and know for sure? I also try to test each time before I get behind the wheel of a vehicle too. I don’t want to be the cause of someone else being hurt because my blood sugar is low. To me driving is a privilege not a right. But I digress…my Endo doesn’t see things the way I do and about the only way I can talk to him is to make an appointment (thereby having another co pay) just so I can talk to him.

With the new health care plan I don’t think things are going to get easier…just worse.

In response to your comment of 9-7-10, I did call the customer service dept and ask to speak with the supervisor…was told the supervisor doesn’t handle complaints … only handles getting people started on the pump. :frowning: