Medicare funding reductions will eliminate key jobs when demands for quality increase.

Leaders in the home oxygen community expressed concern on March 20 over the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) announcement about projected program reductions tied to Medicare’s competitive bidding program for the home oxygen therapy benefit.

The Council for Quality Respiratory Care chairman Peter Kelly said, ‘Changes stemming from new competitive bidding policies are even more dramatic than anticipated, and the breadth of those changes should cause policymakers -- and all of us who care for Medicare’s sickest beneficiaries -- to stop and assess carefully the effect these changes will have on the health and well-being of elderly patients.’

The home oxygen community is currently bracing for a time of great uncertainty for patients and providers due to sweeping changes scheduled to take place in 2008 and 2009 and required by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.

Moreover, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 cut benefits for home oxygen by more than $1.5 billion over the next two years.

‘We are deeply troubled by the prospect that policymakers may consider additional benefit reductions at a time of such disruption and uncertainty,’ said Kelly. ‘The men and women who provide home oxygen services represent the largest single cost associated with helping patients manage their chronic disease. Deep reductions in Medicare funding will eliminate key jobs at a time when the demand for quality is increasing and the economy is experiencing a downturn.’

‘Continuing to cut Medicare’s oxygen benefit will not produce thoughtful program reforms that lead to increased quality, better patient care, fewer hospitalizations and more efficient use of the health care system. We look forward to engaging with policy leaders on appropriate and sustainable approaches to caring for patients suffering from chronic lung and heart diseases,’ Kelly adds.