Tag: Budget Neutrality Requirement

YARMOUTH, Maine – An increase in oxygen reimbursement is a shot in the arm for the HME industry, say providers. CMS in March released an updated fee schedule for oxygen that will result in an increase in fee schedule amounts ranging from $6.72 to $8.19 in former competitive bidding areas; $5.17 to $5.43 in other non-rural areas; and $4.14 to $6.82 in non-contiguous and rural areas, according to the VGM Group. “This is a big thing for our industry, and it needs to be celebrated,”...

WASHINGTON – CMS has published an adjusted fee schedule for oxygen therapy for April 2021 that doesn’t include a percentage reduction to meet the budget neutrality requirement. The adjustments result in an increase in fee schedule amounts ranging from $6.72 to $8.19 in former competitive bidding areas; $5.17 to $5.43 in other non-rural areas; and $4.14 to $6.82 in non-contiguous and rural areas, according to the VGM Group. The fee schedule amounts are not retroactive –...

WASHINGTON – A COVID-19 relief package passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate removes the budget neutrality requirement for oxygen products in rural areas, AAHomecare reports.  “We’re gratified to see that Congress has finally fixed the oxygen budget neutrality issue unfairly impacting rural suppliers,” said Tom Ryan, AAHomecare president and CEO.  “HME stakeholders have been asking...

WASHINGTON – CMS’s “meager” 0.6% CPI-U adjustment escalates the need to pass H.R. 8158, says the Council for Quality Respiratory Care. The lack of a larger adjustment, combined with the budget neutrality requirement, means a reimbursement cut of about 5% for stationary oxygen in non-bid areas, though the impact varies by region, according to the council. “We remain hopeful that Congress will implement a technical fix to this issue through bipartisan end-of-year legislation,”...

WASHINGTON - The Council for Quality Respiratory Care is celebrating National Respiratory Care Week, Oct. 26-31, by promoting H.R. 8158, a bill that would eliminate the budget neutrality requirement for home oxygen services, supplies and equipment. The annual event, sponsored by the American Association for Respiratory Care, recognizes the critical role that respiratory therapists play in promoting patient health. The CQRC commends RTs for their efforts to ensure continued access to care, even as...

Earlier this month, Managing Editor Theresa Flaherty and I were trying to piece together the latest developments in reimbursement relief and we were both getting pretty frustrated. AAHomecare announced recently that the industry's champions in the House of Representatives had introduced H.R. 8158, a bill that would eliminate the budget neutrality requirement for home oxygen therapy. The association says the House Energy and Commerce Committee requested that the provision be peeled away from...

WASHINGTON - The Energy and Commerce Committee in the House of Representatives is now on the hunt for a vehicle for H.R. 8158, a bill that would eliminate the budget neutrality requirement for home oxygen therapy. Industry stakeholders say it's unlikely the bill will be attached to a continuing resolution that must be passed by Sept. 30, because Congress wants a “clean CR,” but there are other options, including possibly another COVID bill and a Medicare extenders package....

WASHINGTON - Reimbursement rates for stationary and portable oxygen concentrators fare quite differently in the 2019 fee schedule, according to an analysis by AAHomecare. The rural rate for stationary concentrators (E1390) will increase 10.9%, from $121.46 to $134.71, and the average regional rate will increase 4.4% from $69.31 to $72.32. The rural rate for POCs (E1392) will decrease 5.2% from $46.77 to $44.32, and the average regional rate will decrease 6.5%, from $38.10 to $35.64. Rates...