Tag: Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform Act (SOAR)
CQRC commends new fraud report, offers SOAR Act as reform
October 5, 2026HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) commends the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for releasing a report on emergent fraud trends impacting Medicare and Medicaid services across the nation. The report emphasizes the need for innovative tools and technology-based solutions to improve fraud detection and mitigation, and the need to move away from “pay and chase.” The CQRC points out that the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act, H.R. 2902/S....
In brief: Oxygen reform push, CMS marketplace purge, Tennr exec team
September 25, 2026HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – More than 300 people living with chronic conditions who rely on supplemental oxygen have met with lawmakers and their staff this year to urge Congress to pass the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act (H.R. 2902/S.1406).
With limited time remaining in this Congress, the supporting organizations, representing individuals with respiratory and other health conditions, care providers, suppliers and advocates, call on lawmakers to pass this life-changing legislation...
Hundreds of oxygen advocates urge passage of SOAR Act
September 23, 2026HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – More than 300 people living with chronic conditions who rely on supplemental oxygen have met with lawmakers and their staff this year to urge Congress to pass the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act (H.R. 2902/S.1406).
With limited time remaining in this Congress, the supporting organizations, representing individuals with respiratory and other health conditions, care providers, suppliers and advocates, call on lawmakers to pass this life-changing legislation before...
In brief: Tightening enrollment, SOAR Act urgency, summer advocacy
July 2, 2026HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 1 released a 2027 Home Health Prospective Payment System proposed rule that includes new provider enrollment provisions that would apply across Medicare provider and supplier types. Among them: The ability to claw-back payments retroactive to the date of noncompliance for all revocations.
Under current regulations, certain Medicare enrollment revocations become effective prospectively — specifically, 30 days after...
Stakeholders urge House committee to advance SOAR Act
July 2, 2026HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – AAHomecare, the Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) and the VGM Group are urging leaders of the House Energy & Commerce Committee to take up and pass the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform Act (SOAR Act) before the August recess. In a June 30 letter to Chair Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the organizations said H.R. 2902 should move independently from other pending DME-related legislation to avoid slowing its progress. “The issues it...
SOAR Act gains cosponsors
June 25, 2026HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – Following AAHomecare’s Washington Legislative Conference in May, the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform Act (SOAR Act) has added 13 new co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and two in the Senate. H.R. 2902 and S. 1406 would, among other things, establish a separate payment rate for liquid oxygen to ensure access for Medicare beneficiaries with complex respiratory needs and permanently remove oxygen from competitive bidding.
The SOAR Act would also:
Establish...
SOAR Act surpasses 50 sign-ons
May 13, 2026HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – More than 13 leading respiratory patient, physician and provider organizations applaud the now more than 50 co-sponsors for the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act (H.R. 2902/S.1406), according to the Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC). The SOAR Act would modernize Medicare’s oxygen benefit, improve access to respiratory therapists, and strengthen patient protections – helping reduce avoidable hospitalizations and allowing people to remain active...
Mobility is the default setting in home oxygen
February 17, 2026Tracy Orzel
Home respiratory is a cornerstone of the HME industry, but manufacturers and providers are redefining what success in the market looks like: Oxygen therapy that keeps pace with patients, durable equipment for everyday demands, and service models that protect margins.
“Since COVID, we have seen rapid adoption of portable oxygen concentrators (POC) as patients, clinicians and providers increasingly choose POCs over legacy modalities like tanks...
CQRC sees momentum on SOAR Act as engagement deepens
February 6, 2026Theresa Flaherty
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) is confident that it can work with lawmakers and regulators on its top priorities for 2026, including passage of the SOAR Act, says Chair Robin Menchen, who is also president and CEO of Rotech Healthcare.
SOAR Act gains traction
The legislation, introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in April 2025, currently has 40 and four co-sponsors,...
CQRC adds its voice to hearing on chronic disease management
November 24, 2025HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) sent a letter to the U.S. House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Vernon Buchanan and Ranking Member Lloyd Doggett II in response to a recent hearing on “Modernizing Care Coordination to Prevent and Treat Chronic Disease.” The letter expressed the CQRC’s appreciation for holding a hearing to consider ways to address challenges in diagnosing and managing chronic diseases and acknowledged the important bipartisan...