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.
While SomniHealth contracts with Medicare, and accepts assignment from most PPO insurance providers, we always put the patient first. If your out of pocket costs are prohibitive, don’t hesitate to discuss pricing with us. We accept all major credit cards and personal checks. For those without insurance and no means to pay, please talk to us about donated equipment. Some of our long-term patients have donated old CPAPs back to SomniHealth specifically to help out others in need. We hate to see anyone go without CPAP treatment merely because of costs.
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.
He started SomniHealth in September, 2005, in effort to dramatically improve the level of care provided for people with sleep disorders.
Brandon Riggins, Respiratory Care Practitioner
From 1994 to 1997 Brandon attended Amarillo College where he received his Associate’s degree. He graduated from the University of Texas at Permian Basin with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Brandon moved his family to the Bay Area in order for him to attend Argosy University. He is currently enrolled in the clinical psychology program to obtain his doctorate. Brandon’s psychological interests include forensics, anxiety related issues and health psychology. Within the field of health psychology he has specific interests for respiratory conditions. Sleep Disorders is an important component to Brandon’s future interest in psychology. Brandon has been a practicing respiratory therapist for thirteen years. Joining the SomniHealth family in August of 2008 gave Brandon the opportunity to advance his career. The experience that he has had as a respiratory therapist is primarily hospital work. Brandon has worked in trauma centers as an emergency department (ED), intensive care, critical care and specialty unit therapist. The use of a CPAP and/or a BIPAP mode of ventilation have also been a constant part of his experience. Being an ED therapist Brandon has experienced the use for CPAP/BIPAP for multiple scenarios. Assisting others with issues regarding sleep disturbance is very important for Brandon as a therapist and as a clinical psychology student. He has also had the opportunity to be a supervisor for other respiratory therapists in multiple hospital facilities. The supervisory positions gave Brandon the opportunity to provide customer service to patients, clients and fellow employees. During this period of time, he was able to grow as a leader for the various organizations as well an advocate for customer service. The environment at SomniHealth is providing continual support for Brandon’s interest as a patient advocate.
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 holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and is currently working toward completing a Master of Business Administration at the University of Phoenix. She serves as a line officer in Valley Star chapter #141, Order of the Eastern Star. She has also performed as 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.
Call SomniHealth Sleep Wellness Center at (510) 864-4800 today!
