Washington The General Accounting Office's six-month time frame was not sufficient to reach accurate conclusions about the impact of Medicare's oxygen cuts, according to the National Association for Medical Equipment Services.

In its comments to the Health Care Financing Administration, NAMES pointed out that the Consumer Price Index freeze was not mentioned among the cuts in the GAO report and that Medicare beneficiaries were neither contacted nor monitored to measure differences in service or access.

The GAO report, Access to Home Oxygen Largely Unchanged; Closer HCFA Monitoring Needed, said there were no significant changes in Medicare beneficiaries' ability to gain access to oxygen services despite the 25 percent cut, that virtually all providers continue to accept assignment for home oxygen, that limitations on certain types of equipment were present before the cuts and that most beneficiaries can still choose from competing providers despite a 6.5 percent decrease in the number of providers.

NAMES also warned that the full impact of 1998's 25 percent payment reduction has "not yet been realized."

NAMES also submitted comments regarding HCFA's request for emergency clearance from the Office of Management and Budget for its survey used by National Supplier Clearinghouse contractors. NAMES protested the survey's questions concerning supplier standards that have not been published in final form.

"Any information about a provider's compliance with proposed standards should not form part of the provider's record," said Asela Cuervo, NAMES assistant vice president of regulatory affairs.

NAMES also disputes requests by surveyors for information not required by Medicare. "There simply is no basis to extend the on-site survey beyond the applicable regulations," Cuervo said.

Tom Hood, director of the National Supplier Clearinghouse, said that, while questions pertaining to the proposed standards are included in current surveys, providers are being judged only on the current standards. "It's an educational vehicle to get the surveyors thinking about the 20, but they're judging on the 11," Hood said.