HCPCS Code K0738: Portable Gaseous Oxygen System, Rental – Home Compressor to Fill Portable Cylinders

No. K0738 represents a home transfill feature for portable gaseous oxygen, so E0431 is not separately payable in the same rental period. Bill one or the other based on the modality in use and the policy’s mutually exclusive coding rule.

Rental ends when the patient reaches the 36-month oxygen equipment cap. After that point and until the end of the five-year reasonable useful lifetime, the supplier from the thirty-sixth month must continue to furnish equipment, accessories, and required services without additional rental payments, unless a qualifying replacement or ownership transfer occurs under policy.

Use QF or QB in scenarios where the documented flow exceeds 4 LPM and portable oxygen is prescribed, paired appropriately with the stationary and portable oxygen codes. Follow the rule that high-flow determinations come from the “at rest” or averaged values, not from “with exercise” testing.