Bid program had no significant impact on access, study finds  

CHICAGO – Medicare's phased implementation of the competitive bidding program in 2011 and 2013 did not reduce oxygen use, according to the findings of a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. In the cohort study of 5,753,308 Medicare beneficiaries with COPD, the program was associated with only a 0.19 percentage point reduction in new oxygen prescriptions and a 0.77 percentage point reduction in oxygen discontinuations, researchers say. As such, the currently proposed legislation to remove supplemental oxygen from the program and return to a fee schedule model may not improve supply and patient access and may lead to higher spending, they say. “In this study, among beneficiaries with COPD, the Medicare CBP was associated with differentially lower spending but not differential changes in oxygen use or clinical outcomes,” the study concluded. “This study did not find evidence supporting ongoing policy efforts to remove supplemental oxygen from the CBP.” The study used a difference-in-differences (DID) method to evaluate the association between implementation of the program and the outcomes of interest. Patients aged 65 to 100 years with COPD living in bid areas were compared with those living in areas where the program was not yet or never implemented. The study included 100% fee-for-service Medicare data of beneficiaries enrolled between July 1, 2009, and December 31, 2015. The data analysis was performed between June 6, 2023, and August 16, 2024.  

• Related: Thirty leading patient, provider and professional organizations have united to call on Congress to pass the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform or SOAR Act (S. 3821/H.R. 7829), which would, among other things, remove supplemental oxygen from Medicare’s competitive bidding program.