Oxygen Cost Study Presented To Congressional Staff: 3 Out Of 4 Dollars Represent Services, USA

Main Category: Caregivers / Homecare
Also Included In: COPD
Article Date: 02 Jul 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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Yesterday, nearly 50 Congressional staffers crowded into a room in the U.S. Capitol to hear Congressman Tom Price, MD (R-Ga.) lead a briefing about oxygen therapy. The centerpiece of the briefing was a Morrison Informatics study that shows that about three-quarters (72 percent) of the cost of providing home oxygen therapy to Medicare patients represent services, delivery, and other operational expenses. Only about one-quarter (28 percent) of the cost represents equipment. The full text is at http://www.aahomecare.org.

Congressman Price, who last month introduced the Home Oxygen Patient Protection Act (HR 5513) along with another physician, Congressman Joe Schwarz (R-Mich.), called forced ownership of oxygen equipment mandated by the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) "extremely short-sighted from a clinical and cost perspective." HR 5513 repeals the DRA provision. Price said oxygen therapy "helps one million home oxygen patients to breath easier, literally," and he described oxygen policy in Medicare as a "life and death issue."

Tom Ryan, Chair of the American Association for Homecare, described the critical role of the homecare provider in educating patients and providing essential services, such as emergency back-up. "I can assure you that through interventions we have prevented ER visits," he said.

lady Rozenbaum, founder of a patient support group called COPD-ALERT, told the group, "I am one of the 25 percent of COPD patients on oxygen who continues to use the benefit after 36 months. I know that if I did not have this oxygen therapy, I would die. I am glad that I am mobile so I can represent the hundreds of thousands of my fellow patients who could not physically handle this trip." Rozenbaum said the oxygen policy change in the Deficit Reduction Act "causes great anxiety in the COPD community" because it "will exact additional costs and impose additional burdens."

Malcolm Morrison of Morrison Informatics was the final speaker. He presented the data gathered from 74 homecare providers that collectively serve more than 600,000 Medicare beneficiaries receiving oxygen therapy in their homes. He concluded that, "further reductions in Medicare reimbursement for home oxygen as a result of the 36-month cap, the CPI freeze, and the effects of competitive bidding, will be problematic for homecare providers and may jeopardize the homecare oxygen services provided to Medicare beneficiaries."

American Association for Homecare
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(703) 836-6263.
http://www.aahomecare.org

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