Supporting more comprehensive oxygen access
July 29, 2022
The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), the American Lung
Association and 23 other organizations issued a letter to urge Congress
and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to change
their policies to ensure anyone who requires supplemental oxygen can
access the most appropriate type of oxygen for their needs.
The principles for legislative reform include:
-
Promote a patient-centric lens of oxygen use, focusing away
from “home oxygen” to “supplemental oxygen” to ensure
people requiring oxygen can live full lives outside their
primary residence
-
Ensure access to liquid oxygen for patients for whom it is
medically necessary
-
Provide adequate reimbursement for respiratory therapists
to ensure patients have access to their expertise
-
Establish national standardized documentation requirements
that rely upon a template rather than prescriber medical
records to reduce challenges in claims
“As an association focused on improving care within chest medicine, we
believe that access to oxygen is critical for many of our patients,”
says David Schulman, MD, MPH, FCCP, President of the American College
of Chest Physicians. “This is one of the main advocacy pillars for our
organization because it is so crucial to maintaining the quality of
life for patients struggling with chronic lung disease. Without
adequate access to oxygen, these patients have enormous difficulty with
normal daily activities, such as traveling to the grocery store or
getting to their next doctor’s appointment.”
Also in support of oxygen therapy, in 2021, CHEST submitted
formal letters to CMS
for broader coverage of supplemental oxygen use and created the
oxygen toolkit, which contains materials created for both patient and clinician use.
The full letter to Congress and the list of signing organizations can
be found below.
Our organizations call for Congressional action to ensure individuals who
require supplemental oxygen have access to medically appropriate oxygen.
Below are our consensus principles for legislative reform:
Four Pillars for Oxygen Reform
1. Ensure supplemental oxygen is patient-centric
- Change “home oxygen” to “supplemental oxygen” to ensure people requiring
oxygen can live full lives outside their primary residence
- Create a patients’ bill of rights to ensure care is focused on patient needs
2. Ensure access to liquid oxygen for patients for whom it is medically necessary
3. Create a statutory service element to provide adequate reimbursement for
respiratory therapists to ensure patients have access to their expertise
4. To ensure predictable and adequate reimbursement and to protect against
fraud and abuse, establish national standardized documentation requirements
that rely upon a template rather than prescriber medical records to support
claims for supplemental oxygen suppliers.
Organizations In Support
Allergy & Asthma Network
Alpha-1 Foundation
American Association for Respiratory Care
American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
American College of Chest Physicians
American Lung Association
American Physical Therapy Association
American Thoracic Society
California Society for Pulmonary Rehabilitation
COPD Foundation
The Council for Quality Respiratory Care
Dorney-Koppel Foundation
Hawaii COPD Coalition
Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
The LAM Foundation
NTM Info & Research
PCD Foundation
Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation
Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Respiratory Health Association
Running On Air
Scleroderma Foundation of California
TSC Alliance
USCOPD Coalition