Home Oxygen Bill H.R. 621 Still Needs Additional Support
A total of 27 members of the U.S. House of Representatives support H.R. 621, the Home Oxygen Patient Protection Act, including three new cosponsors: Representatives Hank Johnson, Jr. (D-Ga.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), and John Tierney (D-Mass.). State associations in Florida (FAMES), Georgia (GAMES), and New England (NEMED) have worked with members of Congress on support for this bill. With five out of 13 districts on board, Georgia is closing in on having half of its delegation signed up as cosponsors. With eight out of 29 congressional districts signed on, New York is second in the running. Additional support is still needed, and providers should ask their state representatives to sign on to this important bill.
H.R. 621 was introduced by physician Congressman Tom Price (R-Ga.) on Jan. 22., 2007.
The HOPP Act may help a million oxygen patients to breathe easier by easing the burdens placed on them by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA).
The HOPP Act would amend the Deficit Reduction Act by restoring Medicare treatment of ownership of oxygen equipment to the system that existed before the law was enacted. A provision in the DRA forces home oxygen patients to assume ownership of and responsibility for medical oxygen systems after 36 months of rental in Medicare. That law severs the patient/provider relationship for home oxygen therapy under Medicare, which raises numerous patient safety issues. AAHomecare, the American Lung Association, and other
patient and provider stakeholders vigorously opposed that change in Medicare policy.
Oxygen therapy is critical to approximately 1 million Americans who suffer from respiratory illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and who require oxygen therapy under Medicare. Nationwide, as many as 15 million Americans have been diagnosed with COPD, a number
that is growing.
Medical oxygen is a federal legend drug and the devices are prescription only. Transferring the burden of ownership to the beneficiary presents serious risks to patient safety. Moreover, medical oxygen therapy at home costs an average of $7.62 per day in Medicare. A typical inpatient hospital day in Medicare costs $4,603.
Oxygen therapy requires more than a piece of equipment. Service costs for medical oxygen therapy in the home exceed the cost of equipment by three to one: 72 percent of the costs required for providing home oxygen therapy are related to services and operation (intake, delivery, maintenance, patient
assessment and education, regulatory compliance, and other costs).
See details under Advocacy Updates at www.aahomecare.org. Search for HR 621 at www.thomas.gov to track details about this and any other bill in Congress.
This article originally appeared in the March 2007 issue of HME Business.