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The rules say that plans must pay for a medical service or item if regular Medicare would pay for it in this case.
You can find this rule at 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 422.101.
The rules say program reimbursement for HBO therapy will be limited to that which is administered in a
chamber (including the one man unit) and is limited to the following conditions:
1. Acute carbon monoxide intoxication,
2. Decompression illness,
3. Gas embolism,
4. Gas gangrene,
5. Acute traumatic peripheral ischemia. HBO therapy is a valuable adjunctive treatment to be used in
combination with accepted standard therapeutic measures when loss of function, limb, or life is threatened.
6. Crush injuries and suturing of severed limbs. As in the previous conditions, HBO therapy would be an
adjunctive treatment when loss of function, limb, or life is threatened.
7. Progressive necrotizing infections (necrotizing fasciitis),
8. Acute peripheral arterial insufficiency,
9. Preparation and preservation of compromised skin grafts (not for primary management of wounds),
10. Chronic refractory osteomyelitis, unresponsive to conventional medical and surgical management,
11. Osteoradionecrosis as an adjunct to conventional treatment,
12. Soft tissue radionecrosis as an adjunct to conventional treatment,
13. Cyanide poisoning,
14. Actinomycosis, only as an adjunct to conventional therapy when the disease process is refractory to
antibiotics and surgical treatment,
15. Diabetic wounds of the lower extremities in patients who meet the following three criteria:
a. Patient has type I or type II diabetes and has a lower extremity wound that is due to diabetes;
b. Patient has a wound classified as Wagner grade III or higher; and
c. Patient has failed an adequate course of standard wound therapy.
The use of HBO therapy is covered as adjunctive therapy only after there are no measurable signs of healing
for at least 30 -days of treatment with standard wound therapy and must be used in addition to standard wound
care.
Standard wound care in patients with diabetic wounds includes: assessment of a patient's vascular status and
correction of any vascular problems in the affected limb if possible, optimization of nutritional status,
optimization of glucose control, debridement by any means to remove devitalized tissue, maintenance of a
clean, moist bed of granulation tissue with appropriate moist dressings, appropriate off-loading, and necessary
treatment to resolve any infection that might be present. Failure to respond to standard wound care occurs when
there are no measurable signs of healing for at least 30 consecutive days. Wounds must be evaluated at least
every 30 days during administration of HBO therapy. Continued treatment with HBO therapy is not covered if
measurable signs of healing have not been demonstrated within any 30-day period of treatment.
B. Noncovered Conditions
All other indications not specified under Section 270.4(A) are not covered under the Medicare program. No
program payment may be made for any conditions other than those listed in 270.4(A).
No program payment may be made for HBO in the treatment of the following conditions:
4. Skin burns (thermal).
You can find this information in Medicare's National Coverage Determination (NCD): Hyperbaric Oxygen
Therapy (20.29).
If you want to read these Medicare rules, you can go to this website www.medicareappeal.com.