Dental Appliance For Sleep Apnea Medicare

If you ve decided to consider providing oral appliance therapy oat for patients with obstructive sleep apnea osa it s natural to feel a bit intimidated regarding the new path of navigating medical insurance.

Dental appliance for sleep apnea medicare. Oral appliance therapy in the medical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. The dme contractors on september 18 issued a draft policy regarding application of medicare coverage for oral appliances prescribed for patients with obstructive sleep apnea osa comments to the four dme contractors will be accepted through november 3 2008. Home blog dental sleep management billing medicare for oral appliance therapy share this. To this end the dental professional may consider sharing the aadsm protocols and aasm practice parameters with the insurance company to emphasize that oral appliance therapy is an accepted treatment for this medical condition.

Although cpap is the most popular sleep apnea treatment dental appliances are becoming more common as research solidifies their efficacy in treating mild to moderate sleep apnea and snoring. Discuss the options of therapy with your sleep physician and the costs involved. Under the draft policy coverage for the device applies where. He is a member of the american academy of dental sleep medicine as well as the academy of clinical sleep disorders disciplines.

While mild moderate sleep apnea can be treated with an oral appliance as a first line option severe sleep apnea the only life threatening level of sleep apnea is best treated with cpap. The medicare dme landscape changed making it more difficult and in some cases impossible for beneficiaries to qualify for oral appliance therapy coverage if they have obstructive sleep apnea osa and cannot tolerate cpap therapy. The most common form of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea and medicare does offer coverage for some dental appliances that. Without further ado let s explore some main points to be aware of when billing medicare for oral appliances for osa.

It results in your breathing stopping and restarting randomly which can be dangerous for your overall health. For a dentist to receive reimbursement from medicare or to bill medicare for an oral appliance for sleep apnea the treating dentist must enroll their practice location as a. Oral devices for sleep apnea are often used as a substitute for cpap or sleep apnea surgery as they are more cost expensive and less invasive. If you suffer from obstructive sleep apnea and are looking for relief other than a cpap machine contact dr.

Medicare the program for seniors and people with certain disabilities does provide coverage for custom oral appliances for osa and covers specific oral appliances. Levy has been using oral appliance therapy and mouthpieces to treat sleep apnea since 2005. Oral appliances can control sleep apnea in only 30 of patients with severe osa.