Tag: Home Oxygen Therapy
Bill introduced to ‘maintain and stabilize’ oxygen reimbursement
April 11, 2025HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – The Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform Act, which would remove supplemental oxygen from Medicare’s competitive bidding program, has been reintroduced in the Senate and House of Representatives, the Council for Quality Respiratory Care has announced.
The bill would remove supplemental oxygen from the bid program to establish separate payment rates for non-liquid and liquid oxygen, reflecting the diverse patient needs and oxygen therapy modalities, the organization...
Bid program had no significant impact on access, study finds
November 5, 2024HME News Staff
CHICAGO – Medicare's phased implementation of the competitive bidding program in 2011 and 2013 did not reduce oxygen use, according to the findings of a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. In the cohort study of 5,753,308 Medicare beneficiaries with COPD, the program was associated with only a 0.19 percentage point reduction in new oxygen prescriptions and a 0.77 percentage point reduction in oxygen discontinuations, researchers say. As such, the currently proposed legislation...
In brief: Apple Watch, SOAR Act, Abbott Lingo, MAC consolidation
September 11, 2024HME News Staff
CUPERTINO, Calif. – Apple on Sept. 9 unveiled Apple Watch Series 10, which among other things, features a new sleep apnea feature.
Building on the intelligent health features already available to track key overnight metrics such as heart rate, respiratory rate and wrist temperature, the watch’s new sleep apnea feature can help identify signs of sleep apnea, the company says, by using the accelerometer to monitor small movements at the wrist that are associated with interruptions...
CQRC: ‘We are optimistic’
September 10, 2024HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – With limited time remaining in the 118th Congress, the Council of Quality Respiratory Care is thanking new supporters of the SOAR Act and calling on the rest of legislators to join them in restoring patient access to all supplemental oxygen modalities.
The new co-sponsors of S. 3821 and H.R. 7829 are:
Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Gary Peters, D-Mich.
Reps. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., Donald G. Davis, D-N.C., Cliff Bentz, R-Oregon, Darren...
Encore publishes data on impact of Nexus on COPD patients
July 8, 2024HME News Staff
LIVINGSTON, Tenn. – Home-based COPD management programs led by respiratory therapists using AI-driven software with plan of care goals can have a significant impact on admissions, quality of care metrics and overall cost of care, according to an abstract developed by Encore Healthcare and published by the American Thoracic Society.
HME providers using Encore’s Nexus software for patients using non-invasive ventilation produced the following results:
Enrollees...
In brief: Oxygen reform, POC efficacy, O&P WOY
June 7, 2024HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – A coalition of patient, provider and professional organizations calls on Congress to support and cosponsor the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act, legislation that seeks to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries have access to the correct type and levels of oxygen, in a new letter.
The American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC), American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Lung Association, American Thoracic Society, COPD Foundation, Council...
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...