Sixteen national health and advocacy organizations have jointly called on Congress to support the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act, legislation aimed at improving access to supplemental oxygen for Medicare beneficiaries. The bipartisan SOAR Act (S. 1406/H.R. 2902) seeks to address barriers that people with serious lung and heart diseases face in obtaining the appropriate oxygen equipment and services.
The organizations released a statement highlighting the significance of the proposed legislation:
“The Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act is critical to the lives of more than 1.5 million people in the U.S. with serious lung and heart diseases who continue to face significant barriers to accessing the appropriate supplemental oxygen equipment and services they need.
“Supplemental oxygen is essential for daily living – enabling individuals to do everyday activities like going to the grocery store and medical appointments and attending family gatherings. Unfortunately, many people, especially those enrolled in Medicare, struggle to obtain the right type and levels of oxygen, leaving them isolated and effectively trapped in their homes.
“A recent proposal from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to resume the competitive bidding program for supplemental oxygen could further limit access to care. The SOAR Act would permanently remove supplemental oxygen from Medicare’s competitive bidding program and establish a separate payment pathway for liquid oxygen and other oxygen therapies 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 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 deliver major health and quality-of-life improvements for people 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 while enabling individuals to receive treatment in the home and avoid facility-based care. Stabilizing the Medicare market would also strengthen 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 swiftly pass the SOAR Act in 2025.”
Earlier this year, over thirty health groups sent a letter urging lawmakers’ support for this legislation.
Organizations endorsing this call include AAHomecare, Alpha-1 Foundation, American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), American Association for Respiratory Care, American College of Chest Physicians, American Lung Association, American Thoracic Society, COPD Foundation, Council for Quality Respiratory Care, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR), Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, Respiratory Health Association, Pulmonary Hypertension Association Running On Air; VGM Group Inc.
