# CPAP Therapy Cost: 5-Year Guide (2026) What CPAP therapy costs over 5 years: machine, masks, filters, supplies, power. Medicare and cash side by side, plus a free calculator for yours. Source: https://cpapclarity.com/learn/cpap-cost-calculator-guide Published: 2026-04-08 Updated: 2026-10-11 Author: Brian C. Informational, not medical advice. Talk to your sleep physician before changing your therapy, pressure, mask, or medications. CPAP therapy is a long game. The machine is the first line on the receipt, and the part most people underestimate is the steady run of supplies over five years: cushions, filters, tubing and the water chamber. If you are deciding between going through your plan and paying cash, you need both totals for the same setup, side by side. The free [**CPAP Cost Calculator**](https://cpapclarity.com/tools/cpap-cost-calculator) does exactly that. Pick your coverage (Original Medicare, a private plan, or none; for a Medicare Advantage plan, pick private plan and enter your plan's numbers), your mask style and your machine, and it estimates five years both ways. Everything it shows is an estimate using prices dated October 2026, not a quote and not insurance, billing or financial advice. Your plan and your supplier set what you actually pay. The rest of this guide explains where each number comes from, so you can decide whether the defaults fit you. ## The three parts of the cost 1. **The machine.** Paying cash, it is one purchase. ResMed's US online store listed the AirSense 11 AutoSet with its humidifier and standard tubing at $1,054 in October 2026. Through Medicare, a supplier rents the machine for 13 months and you own it after that ([Medicare.gov](https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/continuous-positive-airway-pressure-devices)). The heated humidifier is billed separately. 2. **Supplies.** Mask, cushions or pillows, headgear, tubing, the water chamber and filters. Over five years this is usually the largest part. 3. **Power.** Small, but the calculator counts it. More on this below. ## Medicare's supply limits Medicare's rule for CPAP, [CMS LCD L33718](https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/view/lcd.aspx?lcdid=33718), lists the most it usually pays for each part. These are coverage limits, not a schedule anyone has to follow, and not a maker's replacement advice. Private plans set their own limits, so ask yours. | Part | Code | Medicare usually covers | |---|---|---| | Nasal pillows | A7033 | Up to 2 a month | | Nasal mask cushion | A7032 | Up to 2 a month | | Full-face mask cushion | A7031 | Up to 1 a month | | Nasal or nasal pillows mask | A7034 | Up to 1 every 3 months | | Full-face mask | A7030 | Up to 1 every 3 months | | Headgear | A7035 | Up to 1 every 6 months | | Chinstrap | A7036 | Up to 1 every 6 months | | Standard tubing | A7037 | Up to 1 every 3 months | | Heated tubing | A4604 | Up to 1 every 3 months | | Disposable filter | A7038 | Up to 2 a month | | Reusable (non-disposable) filter | A7039 | Up to 1 every 6 months | | Humidifier water chamber | A7046 | Up to 1 every 6 months | Medicare also treats a CPAP machine as lasting 5 years. If you are on Medicare, it keeps covering CPAP after the first 3 months only if your machine's data shows at least 4 hours a night on 70% of nights in 30 days in a row, and you see your provider again. The [Medicare compliance rule guide](https://cpapclarity.com/learn/cpap-compliance-medicare-rule) explains it, and the [Compliance Calculator](https://cpapclarity.com/tools/compliance-calculator) checks where you stand. ## The replacement schedule Both estimates use the same replacement schedule, because the question is who pays, not how often you replace parts. By default that schedule is the makers' own guidance, and each part says where its number comes from: - Mask cushions, the mask frame and headgear every 6 months, from [ResMed Australia patient guidance, 2021](https://www.resmed.com.au/blog/heres-how-often-you-should-be-replacing-your-cpap-gear). This is ResMed's only published interval for mask parts; its US mask user guides say to replace a part when it is worn or damaged. ResMed lists memory foam cushions at every month. - The ResMed air filter every 6 months (more often if it has holes or is blocked with dirt or dust), and tubing and the standard water tub every 6 months, their design life, from the [ResMed AirSense 10 and 11 user guides](https://document.resmed.com/documents/products/machine/airsense-11/user-guide/airsense11_user-guide_amer_mul.pdf). - The Philips DreamStation pollen filter every 6 months, its ultra-fine filter every month, and its tubing every 6 months, from the [Philips DreamStation user manual](https://www.philips.com/c-dam/b2bhc/master/landing-pages/src/update/replacement-devices/dreamstation/en-us/philips-dreamstation-cpap-auto-cpap-user-manual.pdf). - Parts no maker gives a number for, like a chinstrap or the DreamStation water tank, use Medicare's limit. US suppliers usually ship on Medicare's limits, so if you get supplies on auto-resupply, switch the schedule to "as often as Medicare covers". That replaces most parts much more often and raises both estimates. Either way, change any row to match how often you actually replace that part, and replace a part sooner if it wears out. ## How the plan estimate works On Original Medicare, you pay the Part B deductible first. It is $283 in 2026 ([CMS](https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles)). After that, you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for the rental and the supplies. The calculator's plan side uses Medicare's own approved amounts from the [October 2026 DMEPOS fee schedule](https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/fee-schedules/dmepos/dmepos-fee-schedule/dme26-d), taking the middle value across the continental states' non-rural amounts. For the machine that is $50.90 a month for the first 3 months, and Medicare's rules drop it to 75% of that from month 4. The heated humidifier is $171.02 in total. Rural areas pay more, so if you live in one, ask your supplier and change the numbers. Then, year by year, the calculator: - applies the deductible (what is left this year in year 1, and a full deductible in each later year, which you can change), - takes your coinsurance share of the rest, - counts any part you replace faster than Medicare covers at the cash price, because Medicare would not pay for it. For a private plan, including a Medicare Advantage plan, it starts the deductible at $1,886, the [KFF 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey](https://www.kff.org/health-costs/report/2025-employer-health-benefits-survey/) average for single coverage, and pays the rental at one flat monthly amount. A private plan sets its own prices, so until you enter your plan's rental and supply prices and confirm them, the plan column uses Medicare's prices as a stand-in and the calculator does not say which way comes out lower. Ask your plan or supplier for the prices. If you already own your machine, set rental months to 0 and the cash machine price to 0. ## Paying cash The cash side counts the machine price once, then the same supplies on the same schedule at list prices from ResMed's US online store, plus a large US online CPAP retailer for the parts ResMed does not sell, all checked in October 2026. Prices change, and many sellers run sales, so check current prices before you buy. Under the two totals, once both use real prices, the calculator says which comes out lower over five years, using the same replacement schedule for both. It also gives a break-even sentence: how much of your deductible would have to be left this year for cash to come out lower, with your other numbers as entered. ## Power cost The calculator uses the same machine figures as the [CPAP Battery Calculator](https://cpapclarity.com/tools/battery-calculator), which come from ResMed's battery guide at 10 cmH2O: about 11 watts running dry, about 28 watts with the heated humidifier, and about 45 watts with a heated tube. At the U.S. average of about 18ยข per kWh ([EIA](https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/elec_coal_renew.php)), 7 hours a night with the humidifier comes to about $13 a year. Running dry uses about two-fifths of the power of running with the humidifier, but that is a comfort choice first. Where electricity costs more, the yearly figure rises with it. ## Ways to keep the cost down ### Match the schedule to how often you really replace parts The supply rows start at the makers' replacement guidance. A worn cushion stops sealing well, so replace parts when they wear. Set each row to what you actually do, and both estimates follow. ### Pick your machine so the filters are right ResMed AirSense 10 and 11 machines take one disposable filter. Philips DreamStation machines take a reusable pollen filter plus a disposable ultra-fine filter. Choosing your machine in the calculator counts the right ones. ### Ask your plan or supplier before you buy Your share depends on the prices your plan has agreed with your supplier, whether your deductible is already met, and whether a supplement plan pays your coinsurance. Ask your plan or supplier, then enter their numbers. ### Compare machine prices if you are paying cash Machine prices vary between sellers. The [Machine Finder](https://cpapclarity.com/tools/machine-finder) helps narrow the model first. ## FAQs **How accurate is the calculator?** It is an estimate. The plan side uses Medicare's October 2026 approved amounts for most non-rural areas, the cash side uses list prices checked in October 2026, and both use the same replacement schedule. Your plan, your area and your supplier change the real numbers, so every field can be edited. **Does the calculator include travel CPAPs?** No. Travel machines have different parts (many have no water chamber and use their own filters). Use the regular defaults for a rough upper estimate, or change the rows to match. **Why does the plan estimate include a deductible every year?** Medicare's Part B deductible starts again each calendar year, and the calculator assumes CPAP is what meets it. If other care meets your deductible first, enter 0 for the years where that is true. **What about the cost of compliance data?** Your machine already records it. [The CPAP Clarity dashboard](https://cpapclarity.com/) reads your SD card for free in your browser, so the only cost is the SD card itself. ## Try the calculator [Run the numbers for your own situation](https://cpapclarity.com/tools/cpap-cost-calculator). The calculator saves your inputs in your browser (never sent to our servers), so you can come back and change them. To check your Medicare use, the [Compliance Calculator](https://cpapclarity.com/tools/compliance-calculator) is the companion tool.