Group opposes cuts to Medicare home oxygen therapy

A group of organizations representing home oxygen therapy patients, physicians, home oxygen providers, and oxygen system manufacturers issued a statement opposing provisions in the President's proposed 2008 budget that would threaten the home oxygen therapy benefit in Medicare. The group, which includes the American Association for Homecare, the National Association for Medical Direction of Respiratory Care, and National Home Oxygen Patients Association, strongly objected to a proposal in the budget that would force Medicare patients to assume the burden of owning and managing medical oxygen equipment in their homes after only 13 months of use. Currently, funding is capped at 36 months. Concerns over the proposed cuts are compounded by the fact that the Medicare home oxygen benefit is still experiencing the impact of several years of cuts enacted by Congress as part of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The statement says, "We believe the proposed change in payment methodology places an unfair, unsafe, and unrealistic burden on the beneficiary." The entire statement can be viewed at