How can I get financial help to purchase a portable oxygen concentrator?

My Mom had no problem getting a portable tank. She was on that machine at home. A back up tank if electric went out and a portable. She had Medicare and a supplemental. Her cost was about $20 or $40 a month.

Just thought of something else, again. Is this hospital by any chance a Hill-Burton hospital? If so, and unless the HB Act has been amended or rendered less effective by the current administration, HB hospitals are required by federal statute to accept a certain number of indigent level patients.

Some nursing homes are affiliated with hospitals, sometimes through joint ventures. Those homes might have similar Hill Burton policies in place. It's worth checking out.

This might help:

needhelppayingbills.com/html/hill-burton_act_free_healthcar.html. If you can't get to the link, google "Hill Burton Act".

Another thought. Some hospitals have DME affiliated suppliers. In our area, these affiliates are often either in a hospital affiliated medical building or actually in the hospital itself.

Once my father was abruptly discharged w/o my having been told ahead of time. Since the discharge planner never called me, I never brought oxygen from home. And I refused to take him home w/o oxygen.

Someone arranged for us to borrow an E tank from the hospital affiliated DME. I had to return it the same day, but there was no charge.

I wouldn't expect it to be free for a longer period of time, but perhaps you can find out if your hospital's DME, if it has an affiliated one, could honor a script for the oxygen for home care, and bill it through the hospital. That would avoid the patient having to find out of pocket funds, and if Medicaid was approved and the justification was sufficient, it should be covered.

Are you hospital staff Trumbull? Who’s paying for the hospital stay now? Hospital beds are so in demand that I too find this hard to believe. Is the person in a rehab or SNF associated with the hospital?
Sometimes hospitals can provide outside contracts to provide services for limited time, say, 30 days. I’m sure the hospital social workers & discharge planners are working on this.

Trumbull, I'm confused. Are you a medical professional who's asking on behalf of a patient?

I can't speak to Medicaid and oxygen, and I'm not that familiar with paying for care while Medicaid pending.

I assume this patient isn't able to get Medicare either?

As to organizations in Ohio, perhaps someone here has some insight, but I'm wondering what the basis of the need for oxygen is, and if you've contacted any organizations dealing with that medical condition specifically? Perhaps a call to United Way, or the 211 UW hotline, might help.

In the meantime, if oxygen is the sole issue for remaining in the hospital, has there been any consideration at all of short term rehab, including pulmonary rehab, at a rehab facility? I'm assuming the costs would be lower, and if the patient is Medicaid pending, that might be a possible solution.

I'm a bit surprised as well that a hospital would keep someone solely for that reason, absent any other medical conditions that need treating (I'm assuming here). Rehab facilities have oxygen concentrators and could accommodate someone if that's the primary issue. You might have to do some research to find one with a respiratory therapist, if that's appropriate. Not all rehab facilities have RTs on staff, or RTs who round at different facilities.

I have a patient at my hospital facility that is in need of oxygen and has no insurance. The hospital is not able to discharge the patient. The patient just applied for Medicaid and has to allow 30 days for application to be processed and assigned to a case worker. What are the resources that can assist with getting oxygen? The patient has no other insurance and no money to pay are their any organizations in Warren, Ohio that can assist with this matter that you know of?

Again addressing the issue of your friend not being able to leave her room b/c of lack of portable oxygen, this actually makes no sense because any facility should have the oxygen tanks, some of which will fit onto the back of a wheelchair. Without these, residents would be confined to their rooms all the time.

I have a feeling she might have said this in frustration when she was upset about not being able to have Thanksgiving at home.

Another thought occurred to me and that's whether or not she's medically stable enough to leave.

I have done some research on getting a portable oxygen tank privately, through an outright purchase. The units range up to $3500 on a purchased basis. I never discussed rental, so I'm not sure if companies would rent for a short period of time, such as just a day.

This is just a guess, but the fact that she's in a care facility might factor in; DME suppliers would normally do business directly with the facility's management, not individual patients. And there would be the issue of vetting her financial situation to confirm that she can pay.

What you might want to do is speak with the DON or Administrator and ask if she can borrow a tank, on the wheeled rollers, just for the day. The larger tanks (size E I think) have a 6 hour capacity at 2.0 litres.

Just make sure that you or someone else knows how to operate the tan, how to turn the regulator on and off, connect the cannulas, etc.

If that's not possible, I can think of 2 other alternatives:

1. Family can pack up Thanksgiving plates for each of them and for your friend and visit her at the facility. Typically there are private dining rooms, so they could have a special dinner there. And it would be a lot easier on her.

2. I'm not clear on whether she's in rehab or in the facility on a permanent basis, but if it's the former, perhaps the family can have Thanksgiving when she's completed her rehab. It can be a special return home celebration as well.

Good luck; I hope something works out for your friend.

You are right, I wasn't clear in my question. She is in a minimal care nursing facility and she has a bathroom in her room. I do not have access to her medical records and will talk with her about this. I was with her yesterday and she was upset because she couldn't go home for Thanksgiving so I told her I would make some inquiries on her behalf. Are there ways to get a portable tank privately? Maybe we could go that route. Thank you for your help and I will take these suggestions to her. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Secret, someone's going to have to contact this woman's pulmonary physician to see exactly what she qualifies for. I can only address Medicare standards, so you or you friend will have to ask the pulmonologist's office staff to help you understand what is available through Medicaid.

To qualify for oxygen initially, certain criteria have to be met. From what I understand Medicare will pay for a stationary concentrator, generally for night use, but it can also be used during the day since it's electrically operated.

Tanks are generally provided as a backup in the event of a power failure. But it's never the level required for out of home use.

When someone meets the criteria for oxygen 24/7, as your friend has, Medicare will provide either (a) portable cylinder tanks, or (b) a portable concentrator with back-up batteries, but not both.

What you need to find out is whether your friend meets the criteria for a portable concentrator with batteries, or, alternatively, the cylinder tanks.

She has to have been diagnosed by a pulmonologist as needing oxygen 24/7 to get the portable tanks, so that's the issue on which to focus.

I don't understand, however, why she can't leave her room because she needs oxygen 24/7. If she does, and if that's documented, I would think she has the stationery concentrator, with 25' long tubing and cannulas allowing her to move about throughout the house.

What does she have now and why does it limit her to her room? How does she get to the bathroom or kitchen? Something doesn't make sense about that statement.

As to temporary oxygen, again, it depends on meeting the criteria specified.

Also, again, these are Medicare standards. You'll have to use them as a baseline to find out what Medicaid might pay for. I would think that Medicaid would have the same standards for oxygen qualification, but am not familiar with Medicaid on this issue.

This is what I would do:

1. Contact Medicaid offices in your state and ask if they have the same criteria as Medicare for providing and paying for 24/7 oxygen.

2. If they do, and haven't given specific details, contact Medicare and ask what their criteria are. You could also contact your friend's DME supplier and ask generally what that criteria are. But they won't be allowed to discuss your friend's specific situation.

3. Then your friend should contact her pulmonologist and ask if she's met the standards for portable oxygen equipment, and if that documentation has been provided to Medicaid. If she doesn't meet the standards, she won't be able to get it.

This is unfortunately a highly regulated issue for something that some people need desperately.

I have a companion who needs oxygen 24/7. She can't leave her room because of this and Medicaid won't pay for portable oxygen. What can be done to help her get a portable oxygen tank for at least going home for Thanksgiving or Christmas???

Some companies offer financing as well as Paypal has an option called Bill Me Later that is 6 months same as cash. Here is some info on financing: oxygenconcentratorstore/financing/finance-plan/

If a new portable unit is still to expensive, many companies sell good used units with low hours.

One more reference: it would seem that some suppliers might not comply with all the documentation needs properly, but that in the right circumstances it absolutely should be covered.
www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNProducts/downloads/OxgnThrpy_DocCvg_FactSheet_ICN904883.pdf

I had no idea. You would think sufficient portable oxygen would be totally medically necessary and that people using oxygen would not be expected to stay home and be invalids just because of that...but this is the USA and you would think wrong. Here's a link to Medicare info: www.medicare.gov/coverage/oxygen-therapy.html

Hello isisjohnson,

Here are some similar questions that have been answered in the community that may help answer your caregiving question.

https://www.agingcare.com/questions/help-paying-for-oxygen-140889.htm?cpage=2

https://www.agingcare.com/questions/help-mom-get-a-portable-oxygen-tank-166337.htm

Hope this helps,

Ashley T.
The AgingCare.com Team

If you are high flow rate, the little tanks would only last about 5 minutes, which is not practical, and that is the usual reason for denial.