Three industry organizations are urging the U.S. House Committee on Energy & Commerce to advance H.R. 2902, the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act before Congress’s August recess.
The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare), the Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) and VGM & Associates cowrote a June 30 letter to committee chair Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky) and ranking member Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) to underline the critical role the SOAR Act can play in protecting Medicare beneficiary access to supplemental oxygen treatment and services.
“While other DME-related legislation is pending before Congress that our organizations support, it is critically
important that the Committees immediately consider the SOAR Act independently and not slow down the ability of this legislation to proceed as the Committees consider other meaningful legislation,” the letter said.
The organizations pointed to “important milestones” the SOAR Act has achieved, including signing on more than 60 bipartisan co-sponsors to date.
The SOAR Act was one of several key durable medical equipment (DME) issues addressed in a Jan. 8 Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee meeting. A May 13 announcement from more than a dozen healthcare and advocacy organizations noted that the bill “would ensure more individuals with chronic lung and respiratory conditions can access the supplemental oxygen they need to survive and live independently – something that has become increasingly difficult under the current Medicare system. For too many people, access to the right kind of supplemental oxygen is unreliable, delayed, or simply unavailable to them. The SOAR Act is a critical step toward fixing a broken system and ensuring patients can get the care they need when they need it.”
The bill would also improve access to respiratory therapists, strengthen protections for patients, and restore access to liquid oxygen, “which has become nearly impossible to obtain in many parts of the country, despite being essential for patients with the highest needs,” the May letter added.
In line with CMS anti-fraud measures
The June 30 letter added that the SOAR Act’s technology measures line up with current anti-fraud campaigns from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). “The electronic clinical data elements provision (the template) aligns with bipartisan initiatives to reduce fraud and abuse,” the letter said. “The Department of Health and Human Services’ 2025 CERT data suggest the required use of a standardized data element template could stop $60 million annually in improper payments for supplemental oxygen.”
The letter also referenced CMS’s upcoming restart of competitive bidding for some DME and supplies: “Congress can capture a win by locking in the supplemental oxygen savings gained during the previous rounds of competitive bidding. These savings differentiate supplemental oxygen from other devices that have not been subject to competitive bidding previously.”
A companion SOAR Act, S. 1406, currently in the Senate was introduced by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Sen Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
