Thank You, FAA

A little more than a year ago, I noted in this column that the Federal Aviation Administration was proposing that patients with portable oxygen devices be allowed to take them on board when flying commercially.

It must have been at least 20 years ago when, working with many friends and colleagues, we started a campaign of letter-writing and communication with the FAA and the nation's legislators about oxygen patients being allowed to fly. Previously, patients were limited to airlines that provided their own oxygen, and were charged for each leg of the trip. So, if a patient changed planes twice going from the West Coast to the East Coast, a fee was paid three times for the same product normally used. To say the least, this cost often was more than the fare to the patient's destination.

In the July 18 issue of HomeCare Monday, I found the good news that the proposed rule about the use of certain portable oxygen concentrators on airplanes is now final. According to the Federal Register, the new rule, which took effect last month, should be fully implemented by January 2006. Patients need only bring a physician's note and enough batteries to power their units in case there are flight delays.

This makes me very proud of all of the efforts by associations, the work of buying groups and the companies and individuals who worked on this problem.

Thank you, FAA. I now feel vindicated; our efforts were not in vain!

‘Pay for Performance’

What a novel idea? It appears to me that to “pay for performance” is a normal and usual business procedure. However, I find that most HME providers do not receive reimbursement for performance.

When a physician or therapist orders a custom-built wheelchair specifically for a particular patient, how much time will a provider spend measuring and procuring everything that is needed for that one customer? Perhaps the provider has assigned that task to the company's physical therapist, who spends a great number of hours filling the request.

Once the paperwork is submitted to Medicare for reimbursement and there are no problems unearthed, when the provider's payment arrives will the profit allowed on that transaction cover the cost of the time it consumed? Will that provider be “paid for performance?”