Oxygen is an effective, safe, and relatively inexpensive treatment for cluster headache. Yet Medicare and Medicaid (and, by extension, many private insurance companies) don’t cover home-use oxygen as a cluster headache treatment.
Public Comment Open Through September 16
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is reviewing their policy and is open to public comment through Wednesday, Sept. 16. If they reverse their decision to allow for oxygen coverage, then private insurance companies will likely follow. That would widely expand the number of people who have access to this treatment.
How to Leave a Comment
The Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy created a guide for submitting comments to CMS and include links to PDFs with specialized information for patients and caregivers. The gist:
- Write a comment about the efficacy of oxygen for cluster headache and your experience with cluster headache, if you have it (but you don’t have to have cluster headache to comment!)
- Submit your comment on the CMS website.
That’s all there is to it. Obviously, spending more than 10 minutes to write a high-quality comment, especially if you have cluster headache or love someone who does, would be fantastic. But if you can only leave a quick comment, please do.