Tag: Home Oxygen

WASHINGTON – Reps. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., and Adrian Smith, R-Neb., are collecting signatures for a sign-on letter asking CMS to accept the standard written order as the only necessary documentation to establish medical necessity for audits of home oxygen, sleep and non-invasive ventilation claims submitted during the public health emergency, according to AAHomecare.  The letter asks CMS to protect patient access by instructing contractors to use CMS’s widely accepted oxygen...

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden has announced that the public health emergency will end on May 11, 2023.  Under the last declaration in January, the PHE was set to end on April 11.  “The advance notice goes beyond HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra’s previous guidance to health care stakeholders that the agency would provide at least 60 days advance notice before ending the PHE,” AAHomecare noted in a bulletin.  Knowing when the PHE will end gives industry...

 The respiratory market has undergone a series of shifts over the past two-and-a-half years, due to the pandemic and other issues, like supply chain disruptions. But now it appears that external forces have waned, creating a more stable environment for providers, respiratory manufacturers say.  Jim Worrell, chief commercial officer for Pinellas Park, Fla.-based Quality Biomedical, called the past couple of years “a roller coaster ride” as the industry continues to emerge...

WASHINGTON – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care used a recent Request for Information from CMS to push for clear, objective clinical data elements for oxygen that are consistent with existing CMS-developed “templates” to ensure access to care for home respiratory patients.  In its comments on “Make Your Voice Heard: Promoting Efficiency and Equity Within CMS Programs, the CQRC also urges CMS to issue clear guidelines about what to expect after the COVID-19 public...

ST. LOUIS – Responsive Respiratory has created a new showroom floor display to broaden its Boost Oxygen portfolio. “The showroom display is a natural extension of our Boost Oxygen portfolio,” said Steve Bannon, president.  “We are pleased to offer providers a new eye‐catching tool to drive cash sales of Boost Oxygen for the holiday season.” The display, which features Boost’s signature green color, assembles quickly and easily. The sturdy corrugated...

NEW YORK – HME providers saw a 6.3% decline in their sleep patient volume in the last 12 months, but they expect double-digit growth in the next 12 months, according to the third quarter HME Sleep and Oxygen Survey from Needham.  The decline in sleep is mainly due to a shortage in flow generators. The eventual re-entry of Philips into the flow generator market appears likely to come mostly at the expense of smaller competitors rather than ResMed, according to the survey.  Respondents...

WASHINGTON – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care applauded the 22 bipartisan House lawmakers for urging the CMS to protect patients’ access to home oxygen. In a letter, spearheaded by Reps. Terri Sewell, D.-Ala., and Larry Bucshon, R.-Ind., to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, they wrote in support of reforms to the home oxygen therapy benefit, and asked the agency to ensure that Medicare contractor documentation...

WASHINGTON – CMS on Feb. 10 published a change request notifying the DME Medicare Administrative Contractors of the agency’s new national coverage determination for home oxygen therapy.  CMS notes the following changes are effective for claims with dates of service starting Sept. 27, 2021:  expansion of oxygen coverage for acute and chronic conditions;  expansion of coverage for short and long-term need (when hypoxemia exhibited);  the ability of the...

NORTHFIELD, Ill. – Medline opened five newly constructed distribution centers in 2021, with two more scheduled to be completed in 2022, as part of its $1.5 billion Healthcare Resilience Initiative.  The newest LEED-certified distribution center, set to open in the first quarter of 2022, is in Richmond Hill, Ga., less than 30 miles from the Port of Savannah. It will provide an additional 1.2 million square feet of space to stockpile supplies for customer distribution centers throughout...

YARMOUTH, Maine – Andrea Stark says the HME industry hasn’t experienced a coverage expansion like what’s in the new NCD for home oxygen therapy in recent history.  Stark, the head of reimbursement at MiraVista LLC, was a guest on a recent HME News in 10 podcast to talk about the ripple effects of the new NCD, which expands coverage to acute conditions and eliminates the CMN requirement, and how the DME MACs will interpret the new policy.  Caught by surprise  “CMS...