Medicare Guidelines For Portable Oxygen Concentrator

Medicare will pay the supplier a monthly rental fee for the first 36 months.

Medicare guidelines for portable oxygen concentrator.

You must pay 20 of each month s rental fee. Therefore part b covers oxygen tanks as dme. Medicare covers the rental of oxygen concentrators and other oxygen equipment for up to five years as long as you continue to have a medical need for oxygen therapy. The yes and no of medicare coverage.

No medicare will not purchase a portable oxygen concentrator. Yes medicare does cover portable oxygen concentrators. However this only applies for the rental of a portable or home oxygen concentrator. Your supplier must provide equipment and supplies for up to a total of 5 years as long as you have a medical need for oxygen.

You ll rarely be given a full explanation in part because it s complicated. In 2013 medicare cut their reimbursement rates by 50. The amount of time you will need supplemental oxygen and frequency of need typically you must have a 24 7 need for oxygen therapy to qualify for portable oxygen concentrator medicare coverage your doctor s signature. The answer is yes and no.

The fee includes all equipment oxygen supplies and maintenance. Medicare will not purchase or cover the costs of purchasing a portable oxygen concentrator. For medicare to cover portable oxygen concentrators poc your doctor must certify that you have a near constant need for oxygen and are mobile within your home. However medicare does not provide oxygen tanks for just anyone.

The situation with medicare and portable oxygen concentrators is a little complicated. Medicare does provide support for durable medical equipment dme including items such as home hospital beds and wheelchairs. Your prescribed flow rate as well as whether you will require pulse dosing or continuous flow. You may have been told by your homecare provider that medicare does not cover portable oxygen concentrators or that they simply do not carry them.

After 36 months your supplier must continue to provide oxygen equipment and related supplies for an additional 24 months. If you can advocate that a concentrator is absolutely necessary to continue your work or some for some other reason and that the portable will be your main or only source of oxygen you may get approved. If you have just been prescribed oxygen and haven t been on any kind of medical oxygen before this may be your best chance to get a portable covered by insurance or medicare. People sometimes think that because oxygen therapy counts as a dme medicare will cover a portable oxygen concentrator.

Unlike other types of dme oxygen equipment is always rented in a five year cycle and you never have the option to buy it. Medicare coverage for durable medical equipment dme specifically states that beneficiaries must require said equipment for use in the home.