Please take action by asking Congress to include the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform Act (S. 3821/H.R. 7829) in any legislative package that moves before the end of the year. You have until December 20th to take action. We will be back in touch with you to let you know if the SOAR Act gets successfully attached to anything that makes it out of the 118th Congress. 
What happens next? If we don't succeed, we will get the legistlation introduced in the next session of Congress. Stay tuned!

Ask Congress to Fix Medicare Supplemental Oxygen

We urge Congress to take action to reform the Medicare supplemental oxygen benefit. Specifically, we ask you to include the provisions of the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform Act (S. 3821/H.R. 7829) as part of any package moving out of Congress before the end of the year. This legislation will ensure Medicare beneficiaries have access to the right oxygen system and the right oxygen support service needed to treat their serious medical conditions.

For patients with low oxygen levels, supplemental oxygen is an effective and life-saving treatment that measurably improves their health. Medicare has covered supplemental oxygen for decades. Unfortunately, the flawed Medicare competitive bidding program has created barriers to patients receiving the right oxygen system that they need.

Lightweight and portable oxygen systems allow patients to use oxygen outside of their homes and engage in full lives out in the community. While these portable systems are more expensive than older generation oxygen tanks or stationary concentrators, they can significantly improve patient mobility and quality of life. However, from 2017 to 2021 there has been a 72 percent reduction in the number of Medicare beneficiaries who receive portable liquid supplemental oxygen. The Medicare competitive bidding program race to the bottom has forced the portable liquid oxygen systems out of the Medicare market with continuous cuts to Medicare reimbursement for supplemental oxygen, forcing our patients to use archaic heavy oxygen tanks or stationary oxygen concentrators. These clunky systems effectively tether patients to their homes and prevent them enjoying the freedom of movement needed to maintain a high quality of life.

As respiratory therapists, it is distressing to see our patients suffer from the physical and social isolation imposed by stationary oxygen systems. This social isolation has significant health consequences - a recent study found COPD patients who experienced social isolation had shorter median survival time compared to their non-isolated peers (1).

Congress must act to provide this relief. Our patients need your help now! We remain convinced that Medicare oxygen benefit requires significant legislative reform and urge Congress to take immediate action.

Ask Congress to Fix Medicare Supplemental Oxygen

Message

Dear Office Holder (names will be automatically added on each email),