The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) is warning that patient access to supplemental oxygen could be in danger based on the Medicare plans included in the Calendar Year 2026 Home Health Prospective Payment System proposed rule.
In a July 9 press release, the CQRC said it reviewed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule, published in the July 2 edition of the Federal Register, and “is expressing concern that the proposed program could have substantial negative consequences on patient access and quality of care, urgently underscoring the need for Congress to pass supplemental oxygen reform that permanently removes the supplemental oxygen benefit from future rounds of Medicare’s competitive bidding program.”
“While we continue to review the proposed rule to understand its full impact and scope, the CQRC is deeply concerned the methodology proposed by CMS could impede patient access to life-sustaining supplemental oxygen,” said Robin Menchen, president/CEO of Rotech Healthcare and the chair of the CQRC. “CQRC greatly appreciates CMS’s previous decision to pause the CBP [competitive bidding program] and encourages the agency to carefully consider flaws in the previous CBP model that resulted in below-market rates, drastically lower reimbursement, and restricted patient access to modalities of care that help our most at-risk beneficiaries.”
Menchen said competitive bidding’s reappearance on the horizon “underscores the critical importance of passing the SOAR Act this year to ensure supplemental oxygen equipment and supplies remain available.”
The Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act — S. 1406 and H.R. 2902 — seeks to exclude oxygen from Medicare’s competitive bidding program and “to eliminate the barrier Medicare rates have created for patients seeking access to liquid oxygen,” the CQRC said. “In addition, the SOAR Act would strengthen fraud and abuse policies, implement patient protections, support access to respiratory therapy services, and strengthen access to supplemental oxygen care in rural and underserved communities.”
The SOAR Act, introduced in April, is supported by the CQRC, the American Association for Homecare, VGM & Associates, and a host of patient, advocacy, and clinical groups, including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the American Association for Respiratory Care, the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), the American Physical Therapy Association, the American Thoracic Society, and the COPD Foundation.
