Home Health & Hospice Week

The House tri-committee bill doesn't include big oxygen provisions, but that doesn't mean oxygen suppliers can breathe easy.

The bill does include some home medical equipment-related provisions, the American Association for Homecare points out. It would make some changes to oxygen cap periods, waive surety bond requirements for pharmacies with long-standing supplier numbers and good standing, and exempt some pharmacies from HME accreditation requirements.

The bill also still includes a first-month purchase option provision for wheelchairs, but it is less stringent than the one included in last month's draft. Instead of eliminating the first-month purchase option for all wheelchairs, the legislation would eliminate it only for standard power wheelchairs, AAHomecare reports.

"While we are pleased to see that Congress recognizes the purchase option is necessary, we maintain that it is necessary for all power wheelchairs," the trade group says.

New legislation: Another newly introduced bill does contain oxygen provisions, but its reception from the industry has been mixed. AAHomecare applauds H.R. 3220 from Reps. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) and Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.). The bill repeals oxygen's 36-month cap, excludes oxygen from competitive bidding, and recognizes home oxygen therapy services as well as equipment, the trade group says.

But the National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers criticizes the new legislation because it makes oxygen a stand-alone category instead of being in the durable medical equipment benefit and requires cost reports. "The independent provider community voted overwhelmingly against a move of oxygen out of the DME benefit to a 'provider' category," says a July 13 letter sent to Ross from NAIMES and 21 other provider representatives.

Much of the legislation is also too specific and includes language that would be better hammered out in regulations, the letter contends.