The Drive to Pass the SOAR Act for Oxygen Patients
Jun 5, 2024 | Healthcare & Policy, Medicare & Medicaid |
Respiratory healthcare organizations sent a letter to members of Congress this week to encourage passage of the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways
- Thirty leading healthcare organizations, including the American Lung Association and the American Thoracic Society, have called on Congress to support the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act to improve supplemental oxygen access for Medicare patients.
- The SOAR Act aims to remove oxygen services and equipment from the competitive bidding system, establish a new reimbursement system, ensure access to liquid oxygen, provide respiratory therapy services, create an oxygen users’ bill of rights, and standardize documentation requirements.
- The legislation is critical for over 1.5 million Americans with serious lung and heart diseases, enhancing their health and well-being by ensuring they receive the correct type and levels of supplemental oxygen needed for a full and active life.
This week, 30 leading healthcare organizations sent a letter to members of Congress calling for support and cosponsors for the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform or SOAR Act (S. 3821/H.R. 7829). The SOAR act would reform the supplemental oxygen reimbursement system for Medicare patients, ensuring that those who need supplemental oxygen can access the correct type and levels of oxygen needed for them to live full and active lives.
The organizations, American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC), American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), American Lung Association, American Thoracic Society, COPD Foundation, Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) and Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation released this statement:
“The Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform or SOAR Act is critical to the lives of more than 1.5 million people in the U.S. facing serious health risks because they do not currently have access to the appropriate supplemental oxygen equipment and services.
“People with advanced or serious lung or heart diseases may require supplemental oxygen to ensure their bodies receive enough oxygen to keep their blood saturated and to allow their organs to function properly. Unfortunately, many people – especially those enrolled in Medicare – face challenges in getting the right type and oxygen levels.
“The SOAR Act would remove all oxygen services and equipment from the competitive bidding reimbursement system and create a new reimbursement system to ensure everyone who needs supplemental oxygen can get the proper kind and amount for living a full life. The SOAR Act would also ensure access to liquid oxygen for patients for whom it is medically necessary; ensure people who need respiratory therapy services can access them; establish an oxygen users’ bill of rights; and establish national standardized documentation requirements that rely on a template rather than prescriber medical records to make payments more streamlined and less subject to potential fraud or abuse.
“The SOAR Act would bring significant health and well-being benefits to individuals living with COPD, heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, people awaiting lung transplants, and other advanced respiratory diseases who rely on supplemental oxygen. Oxygen therapy can decrease mortality, reduce shortness of breath and increase exercise capacity. Stabilizing the Medicare market would also rebuild the supplemental oxygen market for people with other kinds of insurance.
“Everyone deserves the opportunity to live a full and healthy life, so our organizations urge members of Congress to cosponsor and support the SOAR Act and quickly pass this legislation in 2024.”