Respiratory, continence, and other medical supplies

Oxygen and respiratory equipment

Home oxygen arrives through a few different systems: concentrators that pull oxygen from room air (plug-in, or portable and battery-powered), compressed oxygen tanks or cylinders, and liquid oxygen systems. Oxygen equipment can also attach to other equipment such as a CPAP machine or a ventilator. Your prescriber and supplier select and set up the specific equipment and flow rate — this page only maps the landscape, not the settings.

Because powered equipment fails in an outage, ask your electric utility whether it offers a medical-needs or priority-restoration registry, and ask your supplier what backup they recommend — a portable concentrator with battery power, backup tanks, or both.

Suction, nebulizers, and pulse oximetry

Suction equipment clears airway secretions and typically needs recurring supplies — catheters, tubing, and canisters. Nebulizers turn liquid medication into a fine mist to inhale, and need their own recurring supplies — tubing, cups, and masks or mouthpieces, which wear out and are replaced on a schedule your supplier sets. A pulse oximeter measures oxygen saturation and is used at home when a clinician has specifically prescribed monitoring — it is not something to start using medically on your own without that guidance.

CPAP and BiPAP

Masks, tubing, headgear, and filters all have a replacement schedule — but that schedule, and what your insurer will pay for on what timeline, is set by your supplier and your insurer together, not by a single universal rule. Ask both what your current plan allows, since replacement intervals and prior-authorization rules vary by insurer.

Continence and catheter supplies

Briefs, pull-ups, underpads, and related supplies are covered by TennCare when medically necessary, though quantities and specific covered brands are set by TennCare and can change — verify current details on TennCare’s own pages or with your MCO rather than assuming. Many private and commercial insurance plans, by contrast, do not cover incontinence products as a standard benefit, even though they are more likely to cover catheters. Ask your plan directly rather than assuming either way.

Catheters come in two general types: intermittent catheters, inserted and removed each time the bladder is drained, and indwelling (Foley) catheters, which stay in place for a longer period, typically changed monthly, and drain continuously into a collection bag. A urologist or primary care provider prescribes and directs catheter care; this page only maps the landscape.

Wound care and other recurring supplies

Dressings, barrier creams, gloves, and similar recurring supplies are typically ordered the same way as other medical supplies — through a supply company against a prescription, on a recurring schedule. Your prescriber or a wound-care nurse directs the specific care plan; this page is about keeping the supply chain running, not about wound care itself.

Reordering and backup planning

Most recurring supplies ship on a monthly cadence with quantity limits set by your insurer, against a prescription your supply company keeps on file. Confirm your reorder date and approved quantities directly with the supplier.

If a delivery is late, wrong, or short, call the supply company first; if that doesn’t resolve it, your prescriber’s office can often intervene. Keep a note of what happened and when — useful if the problem repeats or needs to be escalated. Where your supply allowance allows it, a small buffer of backup stock, a charged spare battery for powered equipment, and a written list of who to call cover most emergencies without much extra effort.

Traveling through TSA screening

The Transportation Security Administration allows medically necessary liquids, gels, and the equipment that goes with them — including ice or gel packs to keep them cool, IV bags, pumps, and syringes — in reasonable quantities beyond the usual carry-on limits, but everything must be declared and screened at the checkpoint. You can tell a TSA officer about a disability or medical condition verbally, with a TSA notification card, or with medical documentation, and mobility aids and equipment undergo their own screening process. Build in extra checkpoint time, and see TSA’s own disability and medical conditions page for full current detail before you fly.

Insurance and TennCare, in general

Durable medical equipment and the supplies that go with it are generally covered by TennCare and most insurance plans when medically necessary, usually with prior authorization and quantity limits attached. Coverage is least consistent for continence supplies, which many commercial plans exclude even when TennCare covers them — see “Continence supplies” above. Because rules and prior-authorization requirements change, confirm current coverage with your supplier, prescriber’s office, or TennCare MCO case manager rather than assuming last year’s answer still holds. See “Funding considerations” below for the fuller picture.

• What is the reorder schedule and quantity limit for each supply we use?
• Who do we call first if a delivery is late, wrong, or short?
• What is our backup plan if the power goes out?
• Is this equipment registered with our utility’s medical-needs program?
• What does insurance or TennCare currently cover, and what needs prior authorization?
• What documentation should we bring when traveling with this equipment?
• Who services or repairs this equipment, and how do we reach them?