Our Philosophy
- Keep the focus on the patient, not the insurance company
SomniHealth was founded with the
realization that for any company,
the party that pays the invoices is its customer. For a traditional
Durable Medical Equipment provider (DME), this inevitably means
that insurance companies are their true customers, not the
patients. These
providers are more concerned with amount of reimbursement, insurance
schedules for supplies, and the insurance company’s assessment of
the medical necessity for CPAP than they are concerned about the
patient’s health. There
is a strong economic disincentive for them to provide anything other
than the most basic CPAP and BiLevel devices, because their real
customers refuse to pay for items such as download capability and
auto-adjust.
Third party billing to health insurance companies can
severely hinder the cash flow to the provider. With rental requirements and
delays in processing bills, it can often take more than a year to
get paid for equipment that is dispensed. In addition, the DME must
either hire specially trained billing personnel or engage a billing
service to collect from insurance companies.
25%
Discount for Payment in full at time of
service
While SomniHealth contracts with
Medicare, and accepts assignment from most PPO insurance providers,
we always put the patient first. When patients pay in full
for equipment and services, we
save so much on overhead and improved cash flow that we can offer a
25% discount on CPAP and BiLevel setups compared to the price we
would bill directly to insurance companies. We accept
all major credit cards and personal checks.
Daniel Levy,
President
Daniel graduated
from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, where he was a psychology
major. It was there
that he was first exposed to a sleep laboratory, studying under Dr.
James Maas, author of Power Sleep: The Revolutionary Program That
Prepares Your Mind for Peak Performance. He attended visiting guest
lectures by Dr. William C. Dement, considered by many to be “the
father of sleep medicine.”
After a
twenty-year career in video editing and interactive cable
television, culminating in the position of Vice President of Sales
Strategy for RespondTV, Daniel read Dr. Dement's book, The
Promise of Sleep, which changed his life. Recognizing himself in the
description of sleep apnea, he referred himself to the Stanford
Sleep Disorders Clinic, where he was diagnosed with severe
obstructive sleep apnea in 2000. Levy's personal struggle
with CPAP equipment, durable medical equipment providers and
insurance companies gave him a real-world perspective on the many
difficulties a patient must endure between the diagnosis of sleep
apnea and its successful treatment.
In 2002, Levy
transformed his career and took his first-hand knowledge and
interest in sleep disorders to SleepQuest, an innovative company
that provides both at-home testing and equipment to treat sleep
apnea. This experience gave Daniel comprehensive knowledge of the
equipment and invaluable experience in working with patients. Mr. Levy worked in many
capacities, including accounting, e-commerce, patient care, sleep
test scoring, field office management, and quality
assurance.
Frank Bautista, Respiratory
Therapist
Frank is an
accomplished Respiratory Care Practioner with more than 25 years of
experience. Having worked as an RT for the military, in
hospital environments, at large and small general DME companies, and
sleep facilities, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to
SomniHealth. Soft-spoken and modest in his approach, Frank is
not one to tout his acheivements. However, patients greatly
appreciate his personalized care, warmth, and honest concern for
their well-being. Frank is tri-lingual, fluent in English,
Spanish and Tagalog.
Merribeth May, Office
Manager
Merribeth has
been working in the field of sleep disorder testing and treatment
since 2003, specializing in insurance verification and patient
service coordination. She also has extensive experience in
areas such as customer service, office administration, finance and
human resources. Merribeth is currently working twoard
completeing a degree in Business Managment at the University of
Phoenix. She serves as an officer in the Miramonte chapter,
Order of the Eastern Star, and is a Soprano Soloist with the San
Jose Symphonic Choir.
A CPAP user
herself, Merribeth is a friendly and assuring presence, and takes
great pride in helping others with their sleep
issues.
