Guide
CPAP resupply: what gets replaced and when
Worn CPAP parts fail quietly. The therapy stops working before anything looks broken.
Why replacement matters
A mask cushion is silicone under tension against skin, in warm humid air, every night. It goes soft, then it leaks, then the therapy stops delivering the pressure it is set to. Most people notice as ‘the machine stopped helping’, not as ‘the cushion is worn’.
Filters, tubing and chambers accumulate dust and mineral deposits and become a hygiene problem as well as a performance one.
The general replacement pattern
Different plans set different schedules and you should follow yours, but the pattern is consistent:
- Cushions and nasal pillows — most frequently of all, several times a year.
- Disposable filters — frequently; reusable filters washed and replaced less often.
- Tubing — regularly; heated tubing on its own cycle.
- Headgear and chin straps — as the elastic loses tension.
- Humidifier chamber — periodically, sooner if it is cloudy or scaled.
- Mask frame — least often.
Care between replacements
- Wash the cushion daily in warm soapy water; let it air dry out of direct sun.
- Distilled water only in the humidifier chamber. Tap water scales it and can carry organisms.
- Wash tubing weekly and hang it to dry fully.
- Keep the machine off the floor and out of dust.
- Do not use scented soaps or alcohol wipes on silicone — they degrade it.
Adherence requirements
Medicare and most plans require documented use of the machine during an initial period, plus a follow-up visit with your physician showing benefit, before they will continue paying. Missing that follow-up can end coverage and even trigger recovery of what was paid.
Related
About this guide
This is general information written to be useful, not medical advice, and it is not a coverage determination. It does not replace what your own clinician has told you about your own situation — where the two differ, follow your clinician.
We deliberately publish no prices, allowables or fee-schedule figures. Those vary by plan, state and year, and a stale number is worse than none. Call (800) 304-7030 and we will verify your actual benefit.
Not sure where to start?
Call us and tell us what happened — a surgery, a new diagnosis, a discharge date, a supply you keep running out of. We will tell you what is usually needed, check your benefits, and ask your prescriber for the order if you do not have one yet.