The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) is using National COPD Awareness Month to urge Congress to prioritize Medicare oxygen policy reform.
CQRC pointed out that about 20% of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rely on supplemental oxygen, “underscoring the importance of access to quality supplies and services” in a Nov. 20 news announcement.
The organization highlighted the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (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 CQRC announcement said. “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.”
The SOAR Act is currently under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 2902) and Senate (S. 1406).
“For patients living with chronic diseases like COPD that inhibit their ability to breathe normally and maintain active, high-quality lives, reliable access to supplemental oxygen is crucial,” said Robin Menchen, CQRC chair, CEO of Rotech Healthcare, and The VGM Group’s 2025 HME Woman of the Year. “To ensure sustainable, reliable access to oxygen care in the home setting, CQRC urges Congress to prioritize the passage of the SOAR Act. We are continuing to work with our coalition partners and champions in Congress to build support for this patient-centered, common-sense Medicare reform.”
The Soar Act would provide separate Medicare payments for oxygen and related equipment, supplies and services. The act also “specifically covers services that are provided by respiratory therapists under Medicare and provides for an additional payment adjustment for these services,” the bill’s summary stated.
If the bill became law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would be required “to develop an electronic template for providers to use when prescribing oxygen and related equipment, supplies and services. Medicare beneficiaries would have the right to choose their oxygen providers “and to receive clear communications and be informed about the services provided.”
November is the national awareness month for COPD, which the COPD Foundation said is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. “Millions remain undiagnosed and unaware that they have the disease,” the foundation added.
