Does Medicare Cover Oxygen Equipment & Accessories?

Medicare considers home oxygen equipment and accessories to be durable medical equipment (DME), which it covers. Medicare Part B medical insurance will cover oxygen equipment and accessories used in your home if your doctor determines that the supplies are medically necessary and you meet certain other criteria.

To qualify for Medicare coverage, you must have Medicare Part B or a Medicare Advantage plan. Medicare Advantage plans are required by law to cover everything Medicare Part A and Part B covers.

Under Medicare, you will rent your oxygen equipment from a supplier for 36 months. During this time, you will be responsible for your Medicare Part B deductible and 20 percent of the Medicare-approved cost of the monthly rental.

After the initial 36-month rental period ends, your supplier must continue providing you with oxygen equipment, supplies and regular maintenance for another 24 months, free of charge — as long as the equipment remains a medical necessity.

Five years after starting oxygen therapy, you will have to decide how to continue, as a new 36-month rental period will begin. Several factors will determine your out-of-pocket expenses going forward — including the use of alternative insurance, if you choose to rent or buy the equipment and what your doctor or supplier charges.

If you meet all the requirements, Medicare Part B will pay for specific equipment needed to provide oxygen therapy in your home.

Medicare will also cover equipment and supplies for continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. CPAP machines, tubing and face masks are used to treat sleep apnea and similar conditions.

Medicare typically covers portable oxygen concentrators only in very specific cases.

While Medicare provides billing codes for the devices, it usually does not cover enough of the cost for oxygen suppliers to want to offer portable oxygen concentrators as an option for Medicare beneficiaries.

Most suppliers will instead offer an older, larger home oxygen concentrator along with several oxygen tanks you can use when you move around your house.

Oxygen tanks and oxygen concentrators are two different types of medical equipment that both provide oxygen to people who can’t get enough oxygen on their own.

Oxygen tanks have a specific amount of pressurized oxygen, delivered through a tube to your nose.

Oxygen concentrators collect oxygen from the air around them. They concentrate the oxygen before delivering it to the user. The advantage of a portable oxygen concentrator is that it doesn’t run out of oxygen.