SOAR Act: Help Those Who Struggle to Breathe

Living on the Space Coast, where sending rockets into orbit is a regular occurrence, you’d think innovation knows no bounds. If we can send people into space, surely, we can make the latest healthcare technologies available to patients struggling to breathe!

Sadly, that is not the case for many patients in need of medical oxygen.

I was diagnosed with lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) in 1993, a rare lung disease primarily affecting women that causes abnormal, air-filled cysts in the lungs. Since that time, I have had multiple procedures for a collapsed lung and eventually became dependent on supplemental oxygen full-time.

Despite being eligible for liquid oxygen, a treatment that supports a higher flow of oxygen to the lungs and enables individuals to leave the home for an extended period, it is not available in our community. Instead, I am dependent on heavy oxygen tanks that impede my ability to remain active and travel.

That could all change if Congress passes the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act (S. 1406/H.R. 2902).

This bipartisan Medicare reform would benefit patients in multiple ways: ensuring access to more treatment options, establishing clear provider requirements to protect patients’ rights, increasing access to respiratory therapy, and, most importantly, enabling patients to remain independent and active in their daily lives.

Just because a person requires medical oxygen doesn’t mean they want or should be confined to their home. Medicare oxygen reform would offer patients a better quality of life. I urge every Florida lawmaker to support the SOAR Act.

Terri Rice, Melbourne