Tag: Home oxygen therapy

YARMOUTH, Maine – Outdated, redundant and confusing is the common refrain from HME Newspoll respondents who overwhelmingly support CMS’s decision to eliminate the CMN requirement for home oxygen therapy.  “The CMN is an outdated tool that simply seems to supply Medicare with another means to deny claims on technicalities,” wrote Josh Turner, billing manager at McAbee Medical in Decatur, Ala. “Everything on the CMN is in the medical record, so there is no reason...

WASHINGTON – A coalition of respiratory stakeholders, including the Council for Quality Respiratory Care, are again asking CMS to ensure that objective standards for prescribing home oxygen therapy are put in place to prevent payment issues for HME providers and access issues for patients.  In an Oct. 4 letter, the CQRC and 11 other organizations, including AAHomecare and VGM & Associates, asked CMS to eliminate...

WASHINGTON – AAHomecare, VGM & Associates, the Council for Quality Respiratory Care and 11 other organizations are asking CMS to eliminate the medical record review for home oxygen therapy and to accept the clinician prescription/standard written order as the required documentation for establishing medical necessity.  These changes would protect against fraud and abuse, reduce the burden on clinicians and suppliers, and protect access for Medicare beneficiaries, the groups say in an...

WASHINGTON – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care in a statement today encouraged CMS to reconsider eliminating the CMN for home oxygen therapy.  The CQRC, a coalition of the nation’s largest respiratory providers and manufacturers, says doing that would replace “objective testing ordered by a patient’s physician for the subjective decision-making of Medicare contractors.”  “We are highly supportive of allowing acute patients to receive oxygen...

WASHINGTON – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care in a statement today encouraged CMS to reconsider eliminating the CMN for home oxygen therapy. The CQRC, a coalition of the nation’s largest respiratory providers and manufacturers, says doing that would replace “objective testing ordered by a patient’s physician for the subjective decision-making of Medicare contractors.” “We are highly supportive of allowing acute patients to receive oxygen therapy outside...

These were some of the reactions of industry stakeholders to the news of CMS’s proposed national coverage determination for home oxygen therapy: “Groundbreaking.” “We haven’t seen something this major happen in a long time.” “This obliterates everything that we’ve held to be immovable ground for oxygen coverage.”  If you’re like me, when you first saw the news on that Friday before a long holiday weekend (classic CMS move,...

WASHINGTON – CMS’s proposed national coverage determination for home oxygen therapy – its first revision since 1993 – makes “groundbreaking” changes, including expanding access for acute conditions and removing the CMN requirement.  Industry stakeholders say the agency is proposing the changes largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly increased the number of people needing oxygen and exposed issues with the current NCD.  “We...

ORLANDO, Fla. – OxyGo is celebrating helping more than 1 million lives with its lightweight portable oxygen equipment. The company plans to host a series of events throughout the year to share the milestone with its employees and suppliers. First off: A recent socially distanced luncheon for employees, suppliers and members of the community at OxyGo locations across the country. “Being a family business and celebrating this milestone is incredible,” said V.E. Marquard-Schultz, CEO....

WASHINGTON – CMS wants to modify the national coverage determination (NCD) for home use of oxygen to expand patient access to oxygen and oxygen equipment and permit the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to cover their use to treat cluster headaches and other acute conditions, according to a proposed decision memo.  The agency also wants to remove the NCD for home oxygen use to treat cluster headache, ending coverage with evidence development.  The scope of the decision...

BETHESDA, Md. – HeroX, a social network and crowdsourcing platform, has launched the “Air You Wear Challenge” on behalf of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The challenge seeks to develop more portable, easy-to-use options for patients on supplemental oxygen. Patients who use oxygen consistently say oxygen should be lighter and more portable. “This is the perfect opportunity to tap the global network to solve a problem that affects so many people,” said Christian...