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We 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…
Op-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…
Preserve 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…
Respiratory Care Providers Press CMS For Post-PHE Guidance
Advocates are urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to clarify post-public health emergency (PHE) guidance for home respiratory therapies and protect access for those people who began the therapies under relaxed PHE rules. “As a community we ask that CMS adopt a balanced approach that protects Medicare against fraud and recognizes the flexibilities…