There is growing interest in securing reimbursement for bidirectional thermal fuses from fire safety specialists across the States following the decisions by Iowa, Washington, and North Dakota Medicaid to cover the devices.
In November 2023, Iowa became the first US state to fund the bidirectional Firesafe Cannula Valve through its State Medicaid system. Washington and North Dakota followed shortly after, enabling home oxygen providers in the three states to submit a claim for the thermal fuse devices.
When combined with Veterans Health Administration patients, an estimated 100,000 home oxygen patients can now potentially benefit from thermal fuses. The change in policy in these three states was driven by lobbying from fire safety experts. More states, including South Carolina, Missouri, and Florida, are now looking to learn from this approach and are presenting the case to their Health & Human Services departments.
