Baltimore
CMS has announced a new oxygen code for portable concentrators that also function as stationary units.
Inogen's Inogen One concentrator is currently the only device covered by Code K0671, which takes effect this month.
“This is great news, especially for providers,” said Kathy Odell, CEO of Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Inogen. “Credit should be given to each of the DMERCs and the SADMERC who demonstrated a willingness to evaluate an emerging oxygen technology within a rapidly changing marketplace.”
The company began shipping the Inogen One in October and, in December, received word from CMS that the product met the criteria for both an oxygen concentrator and a portable gaseous oxygen system as defined by the DMERC Policy for Oxygen and Oxygen Equipment.
Last month Inogen was presented with the 2005 Oxygen Therapy Product of the Year Award by Frost & Sullivan. Serving the needs of more active patients, “the Inogen One is redefining the oxygen therapy market by not taking the traditional approach of creating a stationary or portable product,” said Frost & Sullivan research analyst Alpesh Gandhi.
