If you have a medical condition that has damaged your body’s tissue, you may benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy. We take a closer look at how much this therapy can cost.
What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can treat several medical conditions. The therapy takes place in a pressurized room or tube where you breathe pure oxygen.
In the chamber, the air pressure is three times higher than normal. These conditions enable your lungs to breathe more oxygen than they would be able to in real life.
Your blood carries this increased amount of oxygen throughout your body. With the increase in oxygen, levels of blood gasses and tissue function are temporarily restored to normal, which helps fight infection and promotes healing by stimulating growth factors and stem cells.
How much does it cost?
The estimated cost of one hour of hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be between $125 and $250 in private clinics or over $2000 in hospitals. While you may not like the price increase, it's generally better to receive treatment at a hospital. Private clinics offering the service often lack a staff with the medical knowledge to safely administer hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
What about insurance?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a reimbursable treatment for “approved conditions”. Some conditions, however, are only covered in a hospital facility, which is required by Medicare. These include:
- Decompression sickness
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Air/gas embolism
- Gas gangrene
- Some acute traumatic ischemia
- Severe blood loss
- Thermal burns
- Osteoradionecrosis
- Skin grafts and flaps at risk for infection
- Compartment syndrome
- Problem wounds
- Refractory osteomyelitis
- Necrotizing soft tissue infections
- Smoke inhalation
- Crush injury
