Billing for Oxygen and Oxygen Equipment

50.8 - Billing for Oxygen and Oxygen Equipment (Rev. 1544, Issued: 06-26-08, Effective: 07-01-08, Implementation: 07-07-08) Noncontract suppliers of oxygen and oxygen equipment may elect to become “grandfathered suppliers” and continue furnishing these items and services to beneficiaries after the start of the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program, if the beneficiary agrees to the arrangement. This grandfathering process only applies to suppliers that began furnishing oxygen and oxygen equipment to beneficiaries in a CBA prior to the implementation of the competitive bidding program for that area and choose to continue to furnish the grandfathered oxygen and oxygen equipment to these same beneficiaries in the CBA after the start of the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program. See §20.6 for additional information on payments to noncontract suppliers. If a noncontract supplier does not want to continue furnishing oxygen and oxygen equipment to its existing customers/beneficiaries, the beneficiaries must use a contract supplier to obtain the oxygen and oxygen equipment. Ordinarily, the title to the oxygen equipment would transfer to the beneficiary after rental payments have been made for 36 months of continuous use. However, Medicare allows for a minimum of 10 months of payments to be made to a contract supplier for oxygen and oxygen equipment furnished to a beneficiary who changes suppliers under the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program because the current supplier chose not to become a grandfathered supplier. Therefore, under the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program, up to 45 continuous payments could be made for the oxygen and oxygen equipment. The beneficiary is liable for co-payments for all paid oxygen and oxygen equipment claims.