CQRC Celebrates National Respiratory Care Week

CQRC urges Congress to pass H.R. 8158 to waive budget neutrality for home oxygen
services, supplies and equipment.

Washington, DC, October 26, 2020 --(PR.com)-- Today the Council for Quality Respiratory Care
celebrates the beginning of National Respiratory Care Week, which kicks off today and continues through
October 31. The annual event, sponsored by the American Association for Respiratory Care, recognizes
the critical role that respiratory therapists play in promoting patient health. In celebrating this
commemorative week, CQRC commends respiratory therapists for their efforts to ensure continued
access to care - even as outdated Medicare policies threaten to limit beneficiaries’ access to the home
oxygen supplies and equipment they need.

Despite the growing importance of home respiratory care during the ongoing COVID-19 public health
emergency, Medicare has continued applying outdated budget neutrality provisions that undervalue home
oxygen supplies and equipment, and threatened to force some suppliers out of the market, particularly in
rural and suburban areas of the United States.

The budget neutrality provision was originally included in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 in order to
help manage spending associated with adding new oxygen benefits, but the way Medicare prices oxygen
has substantially changed in the nearly quarter-century since. Because Medicare’s competitive bidding
program for durable medical equipment has substantially lowered oxygen rates from those that existed
when the budget neutrality provision was implemented in the 1990s, the provision is no longer necessary
and is actually counterproductive to care delivery and patient access.

“The budget neutrality provision has led to troublingly low rates for oxygen supplies and equipment in
both rural and suburban markets,” said Crispin Teufel, CQRC Chair. “We urge Congress to take action
this year to pass legislation to correct this outdated Medicare policy to ensure continued patient access to
respiratory care for both those living with chronic conditions and individuals recovering from
COVID-19.”

Fortunately, Congress is aware of the problem and is considering a legislative fix would waive
Medicare’s budget neutrality requirement for oxygen and oxygen equipment. If enacted, H.R. 8158 would
implement a much-needed technical change to Medicare payment rules in order to ensure rural patients’
continued access to oxygen supplies and equipment. CQRC strongly urges Congress to pass H.R. 8158,
which is an opportunity to modernize the Medicare program and protect beneficiaries’ access to home
respiratory care.

To participate in the national conversation about National Respiratory Care Week on social media,
include #RCWEEK20 in your posts.

To read the text of H.R. 8158, click here.

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About the Council for Quality Respiratory Care
The CQRC is a coalition of the nation's seven leading home oxygen therapy provider and manufacturing
companies. To learn more, visit cqrc.org and follow CQRC on Twitter at @TheCQRC.

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Contact Information:

Ellen Almond
703-548-0019
Contact via Email
http://cqrc.org/

Online Version of Press Release:

You can read the online version of this press release at: https://www.pr.com/press-release/824131

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