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In an Aug. 1 memorandum, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services explained that, while the durable medical equipment benefit generally applies only to items that a beneficiary uses in the home, there is an exception to the rule.

If the beneficiary uses the equipment in the home any time during the month-long billing cycle, then Medicare will pay for the DME for the entire month. In other words, a beneficiary may spend part of the month in an institution — where care falls under Medicare Part A — and still be eligible for the Part B DME benefit.

More information about this memorandum is available at www.cms.hhs.gov/manuals/default.asp, under the “Program Memoranda” heading.

60% of people polled on HomeCare's Web site believe that service in the HME industry is better today than it was before 1997.

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