Home Oxygen Therapy for Medicare Patients Is Service-Intensive, Says Study
Alexandria, Va. — Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of the cost of providing home oxygen therapy to Medicare patients in their homes represent services, delivery and other operational expenses that benefit patients, according to a new survey of current costs by Morrison Informatics, commissioned by the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare). Only about one-quarter (28 percent) of the cost represents oxygen equipment.
"The study shows that, contrary to some perceptions, home oxygen therapy involves much more than a piece of equipment," said Tom Ryan, chairman of AAHomecare and CEO of Homecare Concepts in Farmingdale, N.Y.
Morrison collected and analyzed data from 74 home care providers that collectively serve more than 600,000 Medicare beneficiaries receiving oxygen therapy in their homes, which represents more than half of the Medicare population receiving oxygen therapy at home. Medical oxygen and oxygen systems require a physician's prescription. Oxygen is highly regulated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
"It is time that CMS and Congress recognize that the services documented in this Morrison study represent the industry standard of care in the United States, regardless of payer source. Managed care, Medicaid and Medicare patients alike all require the same service categories," said Ryan. "Home oxygen reimbursements under Medicare have been cut by nearly 50 percent over the past decade. This direction in policy will shrink and erode the nation's home care infrastructure, which delivers high-quality, cost-effective care to a growing population of older Americans."
For more information on getting involved in the efforts in Washington, visit AAHomecare's Web site at www.aahomecare.org.
This article originally appeared in the July 2006 issue of HME Business.