WASHINGTON--Provisions in the Deficit Reduction Act that cap Medicare oxygen rental at 36 months, then transfer equipment ownership to the beneficiary, would be repealed under legislation introduced in the Senate Thursday.

S. 3814, introduced by Sen. Pat Roberts, R.-Kan., shortly before the Senate adjourned for its August recess, would restore ownership of oxygen equipment to providers.

"With the transfer of ownership of the medical oxygen equipment to the patient, important preventive maintenance mandated by manufacturers and currently performed by oxygen providers shifts to the patient," Roberts said. "This increases the risk of patients self-medicating or not getting enough oxygen due to equipment malfunction. This is an unreasonable burden and worry for seniors who are very ill."

Sens. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio; Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.; Jack Reed, D-R.I.; and George Voinovich, R-Ohio, co-sponsored the legislation, which was referred to the Senate Finance Committee.

The bill is a companion to H.R. 5513, the Home Oxygen Patient Protection Act of 2006, introduced in May by Reps. Joe Schwarz, R-Mich., and Tom Price, R-Ga. (see HomeCare Monday, June 5). The House bill has picked up 48 co-sponsors.

The American Association for Homecare said Friday that it "strongly endorses" the proposed legislation, calling the two bills "excellent tools for reversing the oxygen policy changes passed in the DRA, which raise numerous patient-safety concerns."

To view the text of H.R. 5513, visit http://thomas.loc.gov. The text of S. 3814 should be available shortly.