WASHINGTON--A week after CMS announced its plans to reshape Medicare reimbursement for home oxygen, a group of 11 respiratory providers and manufacturers have joined together in an advocacy coalition called the Council for Quality Respiratory Care.

Members of the group include Airsep, Air Products, American HomePatient, Apria, Invacare, Lincare, Pacific Pulmonary, Praxair, Respironics, Rotech and Sunrise Medical.

CQRC said its goal is to work with policymakers to "facilitate a deeper understanding of the clinical and operational complexities associated with the provision of home oxygen therapy."

In its first public statement, the group expressed disappointment with CMS' proposal to change oxygen categories and fees.

"We are concerned that [the] proposal by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to overhaul Medicare's payment system for home oxygen therapy will have a negative impact on providers' ability to assure access to the level of care and services beneficiaries expect and deserve," said Peter Kelly, CEO of Pacific Pulmonary and chairman of the CQRC.

"The CQRC is currently analyzing the proposed regulation, and we are ready and willing to work collaboratively with CMS and Congress to carefully evaluate this proposal in the context of other significant policy changes, including competitive bidding requirements that will be implemented in 2007 and mandatory patient ownership provisions that will take effect in 2009," he continued. "Viewing each of these new policies in isolation is ill-advised and could have negative consequences on patients that are unintended."

According to CQRC, home oxygen patients have multiple and changing therapy needs. Many patients become increasingly ill over time, and quality home oxygen therapy can keep those patients stable and living independently in the home setting.

In fact, the CQRC continued, a government study shows that long-term use of oxygen can reduce patient hospitalizations and the length of acute care stays. The 2004 study conducted by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows that long-term oxygen therapy reduces the frequency of hospitalization and the number of hospital days.

"This proposed policy reveals that the government's primary focus is on equipment, rather than on the patient services and the changing oxygen therapy needs of the beneficiary," Kelly said.

"We are carefully analyzing the complexities of this new regulation in conjunction with the other two significant changes to the industry--competitive bidding and patient ownership responsibility of equipment after 36 months. We will be providing the CQRC's collective comments and analysis to CMS and Congress shortly, and we look forward to a constructive dialogue that focuses on ensuring patient access to quality oxygen therapy in the home environment."