Does Medicare Part A cover oxygen machines?

1 answer | Last updated: Nov 07, 2016
Foleydavid asked...

Does Medicare Part A cover oxygen machines? It would be for a 67 year old patient.

Expert Answers

Medicare Part A covers all necessary medical care, including an oxygen machine, while someone is an inpatient in a hospital, skilled nursing facility or rehabilitation facility.

 But it sounds like you're interested in whether Medicare covers the use of an oxygen machine at home. The answer is yes, but under Medicare Part B rather than Part A. If home-use oxygen equipment is prescribed by a doctor to treat severe lung disease, other oxygen deprivation, or an arterial blood gas level condition, Medicare Part B can cover it. Be aware, though, that Medicare Part B will cover oxygen therapy at home only if other treatment methods have been tried and failed.

If Medicare Part B covers home oxygen equipment, the patient has to rent it from a Medicare-approved medical equipment supplier. The supplier will also sell the oxygen itself, as well as supplies for delivery of the oxygen therapy at home.

Medicare Part B pays 80 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for the rental of the equipment and the purchase of the oxygen and supplies.