In The News
IN BRIEF: SENATORS PUSH OXYGEN TEMPLATE, DME MACS PUBLISH SUPPLIES GUIDANCE
HME News Staff Updated 10:14 AM CST, Fri February 9, 2024 WASHINGTON – Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., urge CMS to adopt a standardized template instead of a medical record review to ensure access to supplemental oxygen for patients. In a letter to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the senators state: “We ask…
Read MoreCQRC Commends Bipartisan Senate Lawmakers for Urging CMS to Ensure Patient Access to Supplemental Oxygen Therapy
February 8, 2024 Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) spearhead letter calling on CMS to adopt a standardized template to streamline home respiratory patients’ access to supplemental oxygen and prevent unnecessary denials Washington, D.C. – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) – a coalition of the nation’s leading home respiratory therapy providers…
Read MoreCQRC Urges Adoption of Standard Clinical Data Element Template
October 25, 2023 Supplemental oxygen community urges Medicare documentation reforms to protect patient access to home respiratory care Washington, D.C. – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) – a coalition of the nation’s leading home respiratory therapy providers and manufacturing companies – is recognizing Respiratory Care Week by urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid…
Read MoreGROUPS PUSH FOR STANDARDIZED CLINICAL DATA ELEMENTS
HME News Staff Updated 10:18 AM CDT, Mon October 16, 2023 WASHINGTON – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care recently joined five other respiratory care groups in sending a letter to CMS asking the agency to require Medicare contractors to use a standard clinical data element template for supplemental oxygen to ensure beneficiaries, prescribers and suppliers won’t…
Read MoreRespiratory Care Providers Unite to Urge CMS to Use Existing Template for Supplemental Oxygen
October 12, 2023 Leading Respiratory Care Groups Champion Medicare Documentation Reforms to Standardize a Template, but Caution CMS that Focusing on the Electronic Interface Instead of the Clinical Data Elements Risk Complicating What Should Be a Straightforward Process Washington, D.C. – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) – a coalition of the nation’s leading…
Read MoreOXYGEN TEMPLATE: CQRC ENLISTS CONGRESS
HME News Staff Updated 10:20 AM CDT, Tue September 12, 2023 WASHINGTON – Fourteen members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a letter to CMS urging the agency to clarify Medicare documentation requirements for supplemental oxygen and adopt a standardized template for documenting patient need, according to the Council for Quality Respiratory Care. “We write…
Read MoreCMS Focuses DME Reviews On Post-PHE Claims, Keeps Modifier
By Michelle M. Stein DME Medicare Administrative Contractors recently agreed to let durable medical equipment suppliers continue to note which claims started during the COVID-19 pandemic after the public health emergency ends May 11, after suppliers raised concerns that contractors wouldn’t be able to tell when claims initially started — and under which set of…
Read MoreWe should keep Medicare COVID policies that improved patient care | Opinion
By Steve Griggs The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) poses a slew of questions for patients and health care providers alike, particularly in the field of home respiratory therapy, which cares for millions of Americans living with respiratory diseases. In Pennsylvania alone, for example, there are 725,000 people living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary…
Read MoreOp-Ed: As COVID emergency ends, don’t lose sight of what worked
Supplemental oxygen therapy patients and providers in North Carolina and throughout the country are anxiously awaiting guidance and action from the federal Medicare program as the Public Health Emergency (PHE) connected to the COVID-19 pandemic is set to end on May 11. This includes the more than 525,000 North Carolinians living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary…
Read MorePreserve Access to Home Oxygen Therapy Post-Pandemic
CMS should honor its commitment to Medicare beneficiaries, especially those who began home respiratory therapy under the PHE, without requiring them to “restart” the documentation process. Requiring requalification would also be a nightmare for physicians who are already overwhelmed with patient demands. The Covid-19 public health emergency (PHE) was always bound to conclude. The important…
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