Medicare may allow sleep apnea diagnoses from home

Medicare currently covers sleep apnea treatment for those diagnosed in a sleep lab. But last month it proposed to cover treatment for seniors diagnosed with home tests, with a final decision coming in March. The decision will have large ramifications for the booming sleep apnea devices market, which generated more than $85 million of revenue in 2005 and is expected to reach $135 million by 2012, and cut into business and reimbursement at independent and hospital-run sleep labs.