Tag: bi-level

WASHINGTON - The American Association of Respiratory Care, the American College of Chest Physicians and the National Association for Medical Direction of Respiratory Care have submitted a request for a reconsideration of the current Medicare National Coverage Determination for home ventilators, including bi-level devices. The groups would like Medicare to establish specific definitions for chronic respiratory failure, as well as for mechanical ventilators/ventilation, and to create objective, consistent...

There was a nugget of encouraging news at this week's MED Group Respiratory Summit in Jacksonville. There's a rumor floating around that CMS could take another look at its most recent set of rules for CPAP. Patients who need an upgrade from a CPAP machine to a bi-level device must meet four--all four, the way it is written--of a set of metrics. That of course, must be documented by physicians. "There is some movement to get CMS to (back away from this)," said Dan Brown, a healthcare attorney with...