Durable Medical Equipment (DME) is equipment that assist users in activities of daily living, such as walkers, wheelchairs, hospital beds, etc. DME is necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury to better the functioning, health, and safety of the user.
Medicare-covered DME meets these criteria:
Medicare covers DME through two parts:
To obtain a DME you must:
Schedule an appointment with your doctor or health care provider. Then visit your doctor and perform a face-to-face examination.
During your examination, your doctor must deem the usage of the equipment “medically necessary.” This office visit must take place no longer than six months before the prescription was written. Your doctor will fill the necessary documents verifying usage of equipment within your home, or facility, that the required office visit has occurred, and that the DME is medically necessary.
Upon finding a participating DME provider, you will need to give the documents your doctor filled out to the provider. The provider will then be able to complete your order.
Your Medicare-covered equipment should be the same regardless of being on Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage Plan. Some examples of DME are:
There are certain prescription medications and supplies that you must use along with your DME that Medicare also covers such as medication used with nebulizers. Another example are lancets and test strips used with diabetes self-testing equipment.
Certain durable medical equipment is NOT covered by Medicare. These include:
NOTE: Medicaid/Med-Quest may cover some forms of equipment that Medicare will not.
To find out if Medicare covers the supply or item you need or to find a DME supplier in Hawaii, call our Hawaii SHIP Helpline at 808.586.1299 or contact us on this website and a trained volunteer counselor will get back with you shortly.
