Baltimore
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.
For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.
