CPAP EquipSource bets on choice

MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio - CPAP users who don't have insurance or don't want to deal with it will feel at home at CPAP EquipSource, a new cash-only provider in Ohio.

While insurance does pay for machines and supplies, Owner Miguel Semidey says patients don't want to limit their choices.

“We find that a lot of patients want to try a different type of mask, a different brand,” said Semidey, who also owns Medicina Medical, an oxygen and respiratory therapy provider to long-term care facilities. “Another thing: Insurance doesn't cover cleaning devices like the SoClean. There's just a void there, and we're trying to fill that void.”

CPAP EquipSource displays products in a clean and bright showroom, similar to the way products are displayed in a cell phone store. It offers an array of CPAP machines, masks and cleaning devices, as well as nebulizers, portable oxygen concentrators, accessories and supplies. 

CPAP EquipSource also offers home sleep apnea testing. Customers—without seeing a doctor and without a prescription—can pick up an HST device, take it home, test themselves and bring it back. At that point, the results are sent to the provider's sleep lab for scoring by a certified sleep technician, who will make therapy recommendations based on a positive diagnosis. 

In addition to those who don't have insurance, HST is a great option for men, who “don't want to see the doctor, much less go to a sleep lab,” says Semidey. It's also cheaper.

“We can do a sleep study for under $500,” he said. “An inpatient sleep lab is $1,500 to $2,000.”

Semidey sees CPAP EquipSource expanding into a franchise business and/or opening new location in the next year.

“We're still in the proof-of-concept stage, but we know it's going to work, because we see it,” he said.