Durable Medical Equipment | Lincare (2024)

FAQs

What is durable medical equipment? ›

Equipment and supplies ordered by a health care provider for everyday or extended use. Coverage for DME may include: oxygen equipment, wheelchairs, crutches or blood testing strips for diabetics.

What kind of equipment does Medicare not cover? Examples: wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, power scooters, portable oxygen equipment, orthotics, prosthetics, certain diabetes supplies.

What is the difference between durable medical equipment and medical supplies? DME includes items that can be used for a long time. Medical supplies are disposable and usually used once or short term. Often these items are included in DME and may be considered DME by your insurance plan.

Examples of equipment that is not DME: surgical facemasks, incontinence pads, bathtub and toilet seats, wheelchair ramps, and wheelchairs or scooters that are only intended for use outside the home.

Monthly payments for frequently serviced items, like ventilators, are made as long as the equipment is medically necessary. You pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after you pay your Part B deductible for the year. Medicare pays the other 80%. The supplier will pick up the equipment when you no longer need it.

Durable medical equipment (DME) is equipment that helps you complete your daily activities. It includes a variety of items, such as walkers, wheelchairs, and oxygen tanks. Medicare usually covers DME if the equipment: Is durable, meaning it is able to withstand repeated use.

Medicare does not make separate payment for DME when a beneficiary is in a SNF . The SNF is expected to provide all medically necessary Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) during a beneficiary's covered Part A Stay with a few exceptions as noted above.

You'll pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for these deliveries. The supplier that delivers this equipment to you in the last month of the 36-month rental period must provide these items, as long as you medically need them, up to 5 years. The supplier owns the equipment during the entire 5-year period.

DME items cannot include common household items such as strollers, wraps, slings or soft-structured carriers.

Durable medical equipment (DME) refers to all the hardware a person needs in order to treat their healthcare problems. Common forms of DME include walkers, neck braces, post-surgery protective eyewear, and a host of other thing. CPAP machines also belong in the category.

Are syringes considered durable medical equipment? ›

Durable medical supplies can also include disposable gloves that a patient or caregiver may wear during a daily treatment. Supplies can also include bandages, catheter equipment, needles for injection kits and diapers. If it is used once and then thrown away, it is considered a durable medical supply.

The term “Durable Medical Equipment” has multiple synonyms, such as Home Medical Equipment (HME), Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS), Assistive Technology (AT), or Assistive Devices (AD).

Some DME is intended to help seniors recover from injury or to improve a medical condition. Eyeglasses, dentures and orthopedic shoes are in this category, as are prosthetic devices and some exercise tools.

While a shower chair makes bathing easier and safer, Medicare Part A and Part B plans don't cover it. This is because its primary use isn't medical, and it's useful to someone who isn't sick or injured.

The main difference is that medical supplies are items that help a patient care for themselves, but are disposed of once used. Examples of supplies include blood sugar testing strips for diabetics. Durable medical supplies can also include disposable gloves that a patient or caregiver may wear during a daily treatment.

Manufacturing: Manufacturing medical devices is a labor and cost intensive process which requires significant investments of money and resources. The production cost of these devices can vary greatly, which increases the costs known to influence research and development of new medical technology.

Section 414.202 defines DME as equipment furnished by a supplier or a home health agency that meets the following conditions: (1) can withstand repeated use; (2) effective with respect to items classified as DME after January 1, 2012, has an expected life of at least 3 years; (3) is primarily and customarily used to ...