Hi everyone... I just found out today that my family member's insurance has a 2 thousand dollar max per year for durable medical equipment. She will soon have to have a tracheostomy performed and be put on a ventilator, so I am scared to find out how much money we will have to come up with for the ventilator, not to mention the supplies that a vent patient needs everyday. She will also be on a feeding tube. She has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and lately has no energy to eat very well and cannot breathe for long on her own. Putting her into a facility will not be an option as she would rather die first. She can't be alone for 1 second as it is at home without going into a panic. Does anyone know how much an LTV 900 usually costs a patient with private insurance? Also how much the supplies usually cost per month? Please help, this operation will be performed no later than 2 weeks from today Thanks for all the info!

Pam:

I know it's been awhile since you made this post. However, I will reply for others benefit as well as yours. Long-Term Ventilation need not be prohibitively expensive. The LTV 900 is an excellent ventilator, but might be more ventilator than your family member needs. If you want to stay in the LTV Family, the LTV 800 is a basic volume ventilator, which is all that most long-term vent pt's require. Also,ventilators such as Puritan Bennett's LP6 or LP10 have been around forever are workhorses & cost in the neighborhood of $1000-1500 for one in good shape.(*Here are some links to a website that has LP-6's, LP-10's & LP-20's for sale -
http://www.dotmed.com/equipment/38/38/90/all/ ). Many Long-term vent. users also have a back-up ventilator in case their primary ventilator becomes inoperable,(This is why I would suggest a LP-series ventilator, because they are cheap.) Also, you will want extra batteries for trips outside the home.(I don't know how kosher it is, but I have seen car batteries used with a DC/AC converter.

The ventilator may be used with a reusable instead of a disposable patient circuit,(the tubing connecting your family member to the ventilator).You will also need a bag-valve-mask in case the power to the ventilator is interrupted & a supply of suction catheters to suction your family member's trach.(*Most long-term ventilator pt's do not require as frequent suctioning as we do in the hospital environment.) I hope this is helpful information.