The House Energy & Commerce’s subcommittee on health will be discussing a trio of home medical equipment (HME) bills during its meeting on Jan. 8.
On the agenda: H.R. 2005, the DMEPOS (durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies) Relief Act of 2025; H.R. 2902, the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act of 2025; and H.R. 1703, the titanium/carbon fiber ultralightweight upgrade bill.
The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) called for constituents of health subcommittee members to reach out to their representatives’ health care staffers by Wednesday, Jan. 7, “and ask that the Congressman/Congresswoman speak in support of whichever (or all) of these bills are priorities for you.”
H.R. 2005, introduced in March, argues for the 75/25 “blended” rate for durable medical equipment in nonrural or noncontiguous areas under Medicare. In an issue brief, AAHomecare explained the need for revised rates, saying, “Costs have continued to rise throughout the last three years because of supply chain issues, increased raw material and labor costs, and inflation. DME manufacturers and distributors cannot absorb the significant cost increases for raw goods, production, shipping and labor, so they are passing them on to suppliers. These costs are being shouldered by DME suppliers who continue receiving price increase notifications from their vendor partners, as well as increased delivery and operational costs, while facing fixed reimbursement rates.”
The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) has described the SOAR Act as “bipartisan legislation to stabilize patient access by locking in savings for supplemental oxygen obtained from previous rounds of Medicare’s competitive bidding program and establishing of a separate payment rate for liquid oxygen to address chronic underfunding. The SOAR Act also recognizes the vital role of respiratory therapists and requires the adoption of a documentation template to protect patients against fraud and abuse.”
H.R. 1703, the Choices for Increased Mobility Act of 2025, provides a more efficient and cost-effective pathway for Medicare beneficiaries to pay out of pocket to upgrade from an aluminum ultralightweight wheelchair frame to a frame made of titanium or carbon fiber. Currently, beneficiaries cannot solely pay for the upgrade out of pocket; they are required to pay the entire cost of the ultralightweight wheelchair — an upfront expenditure that many wheelchair riders can’t afford. Beneficiaries must then wait for partial reimbursement.
“Note: This is not a mark-up session,” the AAHomecare bulletin said. “The health subcommittee will not be voting on these measures on Jan. 8. We will share more resources on building grassroots for these bills in the coming weeks.”
