Tag: Home Oxygen Therapy
CQRC pushes SOAR Act as part of hearing
April 29, 2024HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care submitted a statement highlighting the need for Medcare to standardize the process for determining medical necessity for home oxygen therapy as part of a recent congressional hearing on “Examining How Improper Payments Cost Taxpayers Billions and Weaken Medicare and Medicaid.”
In the statement, the CQRC recommends CMS require Medicare contractors to use the clinical data element templates already created by the agency...
Oxygen bill introduced in House
April 1, 2024HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – A bill to reform the home oxygen therapy benefit has now also been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act, H.R. 7829, introduced by Reps. David Valadao, R-Calif.; Julia Brownley, D-Calif.; Larry Bucshon, R-Ind., and Adrian Smith, R-Neb., would:
Remove supplemental oxygen from Medicare’s competitive bidding program
Permanently extend Medicare’s blended reimbursement rates
Establish...
CAIRE opens facility in China to serve APAC customers
March 25, 2024HME News Staff
BALL GROUND, Ga. – CAIRE held a special ribbon cutting ceremony and opening celebration in March at the new state-of-the-art CAIRE Medical Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. facility in the Sichuan Province of China. The newly constructed space offers 49,013 square feet of production, warehouse and office space for the 86 employees serving in a variety of roles, including human resources, finance, engineering, quality, supply chain, production, equipment, customer service, marketing and sales....
Oxygen reform bill introduced in Senate
March 1, 2024HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy, MD., R-La., Mark Warner, D-Va., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., have introduced legislation to ease access to supplemental oxygen for Medicare beneficiaries by, among other things, permanently extending blended payment rates.
The Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act of 2024 would establish a new payment methodology for non-liquid oxygen, allowing for most Medicare beneficiaries to be covered under the base payment levels.
“Patients...
Iowa Medicaid starts paying for Firesafe Cannula Valve
December 11, 2023HME News Staff
CHICAGO – Iowa Medicaid began covering the Firesafe Cannula Valve under HCPCS code E0700 on Nov. 1, making it eligible for reimbursement, Sunset Healthcare Solutions has announced. The Firesafe Cannula Valve is a thermal fuse that cuts the flow of oxygen in the event that a patient’s downstream oxygen tubing is ignited. “Prevention of home oxygen therapy related fires, and education around how they can be significantly reduced, has been an initiative of Sunset’s for years,”...
Home oxygen therapy: Stakeholders welcome ‘much-needed’ guidance
March 3, 2023Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – An updated FAQ published by the DME MACs in February, by and large, addresses concerns around the new local coverage determination for home oxygen therapy and serves as a good reference point as HME providers navigate a new era for the benefit, stakeholders say.
The FAQ, published Feb. 21 and updated Feb. 23, addresses 25 questions related to continued need, the new N modifiers and more.
“Full stop, it was a much-needed thing,” said Andrea Stark, a...
DME MACs provide additional guidance
February 21, 2023HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – The DME MACs have published an updated FAQ to provide additional guidance related to the new local coverage determination for home oxygen therapy.
The FAQ comprises 25 questions related to continued need, the new N modifiers and more.
AAHomecare highlighted the following questions in a bulletin:
1. Is an initial F2F evaluation required?
Answer: While there’s no formal requirement in the NCD or LCD, good medical practice would dictate...
Inogen meets expectations in Q4
January 10, 2023HME News Staff
GOLETA, Calif. – Inogen estimates preliminary, unaudited total revenue of $87.5 million to $88.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, representing year-over-year growth of 14.5% to 15.8%.
It estimates total revenue of $376.7 million to $377.7 million for the full year, representing year-over-year growth of 5.2% to 5.5%.
“Despite the prevailing macroeconomic pressures and headwinds resulting from our efforts to continue upgrading the operating disciplines in our DTC...
CMS publishes LCD for oxygen
November 18, 2022HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – CMS has published a new local coverage and policy article for oxygen and oxygen equipment, AAHomecare reports.
Here is a link to the LCD: https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/view/lcd.aspx?lcdid=33797
Here is a link to the policy article: https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/view/article.aspx?articleId=52514
The new LCD goes into effect Jan. 1.
CMS is not required to provide a comment period, because the LCD contains what...
Oxygen sign-on letter heads to CMS
August 11, 2022HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – Twenty two members of the House of Representatives have asked CMS to streamline documentation for home oxygen therapy, AAHomecare reports. A sign-on letter spearheaded by Reps. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., and Larry Bucshon, R-Ind., requests that CMS: “Use the opportunity of expanding the current National Coverage Determination for oxygen to establish a clear set of criteria to support medical necessity and instruct the contractors to rely solely on the Standard Written Order...