Medicare Beneficiaries Worried New CMS Rule Will Eliminate Medicare Coverage For Oxygen Supplies

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Respiratory / Asthma;  Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 22 Dec 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Many Medicare beneficiaries who use portable oxygen have expressed concerns that they will lose Medicare coverage of their oxygen supplies when a new CMS rule change takes effect on Jan. 1, 2009, Scripps Howard/Detroit News reports (Rauda, Scripps Howard/Detroit News, 12/19).

The rule will limit to three years the length of time that Medicare will pay the rental fee for oxygen equipment. At the end of the three-year period, Medicare will cover routine maintenance and service for six months. Oxygen equipment suppliers will have to maintain the equipment for as long as five years. Medicare currently spends about $3 billion annually to provide oxygen equipment to an estimated one million beneficiaries, one-third of whom need to use the equipment for more than three years (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 12/17).

Pat McElrath, director of Hendrick Medical Supply, said that beneficiaries "are afraid the quality of service that they receive is going to be affected," and "since they depend on the oxygen to breathe, they're afraid they're going to be left in an emergency situation because of the lack of reimbursements for emergency service" (Scripps Howard/Detroit News, 12/19).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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