Major Respiratory Players Form Oxygen Coalition

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.”