News
New Medicare rules on home-oxygen payment causes complaints from suppliers, problems for some patients
By AMY MERRICK
Wall Street Journal
More than one million people rely on Medicare to pay for home-oxygen therapy. Now some patients are running into problems switching their suppliers because of complex new rules the federal insurer uses to pay for the services.
Under the new rules, which began to affect patients on Jan. 1, Medicare will pay suppliers at its prevailing rate for the first three years after a patient begins coverage. Suppliers are then required to continue providing oxygen services to patients for another two years, but at a sharply reduced payment rate. After that, patients are entitled to receive new equipment and Medicare will resume paying suppliers at the higher rate.
The changes, aimed at trimming costs for Medicare, have created problems for some patients who want to find a new source for their oxygen, perhaps because they want to move closer to family members. Some suppliers are balking at accepting new patients who are approaching, or have already reached, Medicare’s new three-year limit on full payments. That’s because the companies would have to provide oxygen services for the next two years without getting much payment.
