ALS report urges better access to respiratory care
By HME News Staff
Updated 10:14 AM CDT, Thu June 27, 2024
WASHINGTON - The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine have published “Living with ALS,” a report on improving the quality of care for individuals with ALS that includes specific recommendations to strengthen access to respiratory care.
The report includes a policy brief that urges CMS and private insurers to act quickly to expedite access to essential ALS medical and support services, including:
-
Requiring expedited (within 72 hours) responses to prior authorization requests for all therapies, durable medical equipment, assistive technologies and services for persons with ALS.
-
Not denying services for persons with ALS based on failure to show functional improvement, given the progressive nature of the illness.
“The findings and recommendations related to respiratory care in the report echo messages that our partners in the clinician community and at the ALS Association have been making to remove barriers to access for non-invasive ventilators (NIV) for patients with severe respiratory challenges,” AAHomecare stated. “The new report will lend additional credibility to our ongoing advocacy to ensure these individuals and their caregivers can benefit from these life-sustaining products.”
Comments