Senators Push to Prevent Oxygen Cuts

WASHINGTON–With a “Dear Colleague” letter sent last week, Sens.
Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Pat Roberts, R-Kan., urged the Senate
Budget Committee to reject the cuts to home oxygen proposed in
President Bush’s 2009 budget.

In the letter, Lincoln and Roberts state: “The President’s FY
2009 budget proposal includes reducing the rental period for oxygen
equipment from 36 months to 13 months. We have yet to even see the
effects of the 36-month cap, passed as part of the Deficit
Reduction Act of 2005, on beneficiary access and care. This,
combined with other provisions passed over the last several years,
will reduce Medicare reimbursement for home oxygen therapy by an
estimated 20 percent over the next several months, which we believe
could jeopardize care for some patients and make benefit reform
much more difficult to achieve.”

Lincoln and Roberts encouraged fellow senators to add their
support through a sign-on letter directed to Senate Budget
Committee Chair Kent Conrad, D-N.J., and ranking member Judd Gregg,
R-N.H.

“Home oxygen therapy, when properly prescribed and used, can
slow lung degeneration and prevent hospitalizations, saving scarce
Medicare dollars. Since 1998, the home oxygen payment system has
been subjected to repeated changes and cuts,” the sign-on reads.
“We ask the Committee to weigh the cumulative effect of these cuts
and reject assumptions of additional funding reductions.”

Both letters can be viewed on the AAHomecare Web site at

www.aahomecare.org.