Medicare beneficiaries waiting on a wheelchair, a home ventilator, or a portable oxygen system have roughly twelve weeks before new federal paperwork requirements take effect, and the single most useful thing a patient or caregiver can do in that window is ask their supplier a short list of specific questions.
Starting October 28, a documented face-to-face visit with the treating practitioner will be required before delivery of 22 additional equipment types, including three home ventilator codes, eight wheelchair codes and one portable gaseous oxygen system. A separate and much smaller set of eight items will require Medicare's advance approval.
