Ryan: 'Don't Make It Harder for Americans to Breathe'

WASHINGTON--Getting members of Congress to sign on to the Home Oxygen Patient Protection Act was one of the main "asks" HME stakeholders took to Capitol Hill at a legislative fly-in sponsored by the American Association for Homecare last week.

"Don't make it harder for Americans to breathe," association Chairman Tom Ryan, president and CEO of Homecare Concepts, Farmingdale, N.Y., urged 150 providers and others participating in Tuesday's lobbying day to tell their congressmen. "We've got to get more people behind H.R. 5513. Patients should not be forced into [equipment] ownership."

The bill, introduced by Reps. Joe Schwarz, R-Mich., and Tom Price, R-Ga.--both physicians--would repeal the 36-month cap on Medicare oxygen reimbursement enacted under the Deficit Reduction Act, which passed in late 2005 (see HomeCare Monday, June 5). Inserted in the DRA as a money-saving effort by California Rep. Bill Thomas--considered an industry nemesis by many for his role in pushing through the DME competitive bidding mandate in the Medicare Modernization Act--the DRA provision also transfers equipment title to the beneficiary when the cap kicks in.

In addition, President Bush's proposed 2007 budget includes a provision that would shorten the rental period to 13 months, for an estimated $6.6 billion savings over five years.

Approximately a million Medicare beneficiaries now receive oxygen therapy, and 15 million more Americans have been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a progressive, fatal illness requiring long-term oxygen therapy. It's the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S.

But according to a survey of oxygen providers commissioned by AAHomecare and set for release Tuesday, only 28 percent of the cost of serving oxygen patients can be attributed to the actual equipment, while 72 percent is related to the cost of services and operations such as delivery, maintenance, patient assessment and education, 24-hour on-call support, regulatory compliance and other expenses.

While the change in oxygen policy makes "rent-to-purchase" sound like a good thing for beneficiaries, Ryan said, "it's forced ownership." What's more, the policy change could result in a number of patient safety issues and increased hospitalizations for oxygen patients who don't--or can't--maintain their equipment. According to association figures, the average annual cost for home oxygen therapy is $2,784, or $7.62 a day, versus an average $4,600 cost for a one-day stay in the hospital.