# Oxygen charge?



## ashleighhill

My physician wants to charge for administering oxygen to his patient when she was undergoing an infusion to treat her migraine headache.  Please direct me to Medicare guidelines regarding the charging of oxygen.  Years ago, we stopped billing for oxygen after reading an article stating that it was included in the E&M.  Does anyone know if this rule has changed?  Thanks in advance for your help!


----------



## RebeccaWoodward*

Is this what your looking for?

A - Commonly Furnished in Physicians' Offices
Services and supplies commonly furnished in physicians' offices are covered under the incident to provision. Where supplies are clearly of a type a physician is not expected to have on hand in his/her office or where services are of a type not considered medically appropriate to provide in the office setting, they would not be covered under the incident to provision.
Supplies usually furnished by the physician in the course of performing his/her services, e.g., gauze, ointments, bandages, and oxygen, are also covered. Charges for such services and supplies must be included in the physicians' bills. (See §50 regarding coverage of drugs and biologicals under this provision.) To be covered, supplies, including drugs and biologicals, must represent an expense to the physician or legal entity billing fir he services or supplies. For example, where a patient purchases a drug and the physician administers it, the cost of the drug is not covered. However, the administration of the drug, regardless of the source, is a service that represents an expense to the physician. Therefore, administration of the drug is payable if the drug would have been covered if the physician purchased it.

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/manuals/Downloads/bp102c15.pdf


----------



## ashleighhill

*Thank you*

Thank you, Rebecca, for your help!  Have a great day.


----------



## rizeninme

*Billing for oxygen in the office?*

Well, now that we know we can bill for oxygen, my next question is how? We provide chemotherapy here in our office, and sometimes the patient's are here for hours at a time and need to be hooked up to our oxygen because their portable tanks don't last long enough. 

Would we bill this as a physician service, or through DMERC? We are not providing anything except the oxygen they use while they are here, and we are hooking up their masks to our system, so we would not bill for anything except the actual oxygen used.

Thanks!


----------



## ckkohler

*Oxygen Billing*

Rebecca - just curious .. based on the paragraph you included in your post, I read this to mean that oxygen IS part of the physician's office services (thereby not billed separately) .. am I understanding this ruling correctly?  Just reading the post before mine and she appears to be reading it differently ... ?  Just wondering.  Thanks!


----------



## RebeccaWoodward*

ckkohler~

Correct...I understand it to be included in the physicians office visit.  Here's a MLN Matters that explains when it can be billed.  

http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE0840.pdf


----------



## teresa_bondoc@yahoo.com

*Oxygen for inpatient*

Is oxygen billable separately as an item/supply in the inpatient setting/ER setting?
If yes, may we know how it is billed?  is it by the hour/day?

Thank you.


----------

