A few weeks ago I had a sleep study and was diagnosed with moderate OSA and this Friday I have a titration test scheduled. Since just before the sleep study I've been lurking around various apnea boards trying to educate myself so, among other things, I'll know more what to ask for equipment-wise when it comes time to get a scrip from my doctor and  when dealing with the DME. I hope you can indulge a noob a few questions:

First – specifically for choosing and purchasing a CPAP machine – Recently I made a tour of two DME's that my insurance company contracts with and one they do not (they've said they'll reimburse me no matter where I get the machine up to their $900 limit) to get a feel for their friendliness and to see what equipment they carry and it seems they all carry Resmed machines.  I've read reviews and compared pricing and think I'd like a DeVilbiss IntelliPAP AutoAdjust. This machine looks to offer a great balance between features and cost. I'm going to ask the DME I decide to go with if they'll order this for me and if they won't then I can obviously go on-line and get it. I really wouldn't have any problems getting the Resmed S9 Autoset but the DeVilbiss is smaller, considerably less expensive, and has a longer warranty. I'm a do-it-yourself kind of person and a computer tech so making any adjustment and setting changes that may be needed later do not intimidate me. So…..what would a local DME do for me machine-wise that an on-line retailer could not?

Another question about machine choice – am I correct in the assumption that since all xPAP machines are billed under the E0601 billing code that I should be able to make my own choice between a CPAP and APAP machine but that I'd be better off having the Doctor write the RX specifying the machine I want?  

Mask choice – as a new user I'm guessing my best option for choosing/purchasing masks is to do this locally. Is it likely a DME will support me as well if I didn't get the machine from them??

As I get more into this I'm sure I'll have more questions but this is already too long.

Thanks for your help!!

Randy