Americans’ access to vital Medicare-provided durable medical equipment (DME) such as oxygen machines, often limited in rural communities, would be retained under bipartisan legislation introduced on Thursday by U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA).
McMorris Rodgers teamed up with U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA) to introduce the Protecting Home Oxygen & Medical Equipment (HOME) Access Act of 2017 to remedy federal policy and regulatory changes that led to reduced DME reimbursement rates. The reduced rates in turn created DME access constraints and shifted costs to other areas of Medicare.
“From seniors to those with disabilities or chronic conditions, people in Eastern Washington rely on durable medical equipment to go about their daily lives —whether it’s to simply walk around without falling or to breathe normally when their lungs can no longer do it on their own,” said McMorris Rodgers. “But this equipment cannot save lives if it isn’t made available to those who need it most, especially in rural communities where we know barriers to access health care already exist.”
If enacted, the legislation would extend the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) transition to new DME payment rates under the Medicare program and amend the Social Security Act to update the Medicare budget neutrality requirement for oxygen.
In June, McMorris Rodgers took the lead on expressing concerns about the cuts to reimbursement rates to then-Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price and CMS Administrator Seema Verma.
In 2016, CMS used a budget-neutrality offset for 2017 rural fee schedules for oxygen concentrators, which then reduced 2017 oxygen-concentrator reimbursements in rural areas below the average regional competitive bidding special payments the reimbursements are based on, the letter said.
“We have deep concerns about what this may mean for beneficiary access to oxygen and oxygen equipment,” according to the letter that was cosigned by a bipartisan group of 153 members of the House of Representatives.
Loebsack said it was important to delay the regulation that hits rural areas hardest.
“I am pleased to work on a bipartisan basis with Rep. McMorris Rodgers and nearly 50 cosponsors to correct this decision and ensure patients, no matter where they live, have access to the medical equipment they need,” he said.