Increasingly popular home medical devices can be a huge help for Medicare beneficiaries (particularly ones with chronic conditions) and their family caregivers. The devices offer vital health assistance and treatment in a comfortable, convenient setting and are often used in hospital at home programs. But these devices—known as durable medical equipment in Medicare Part B parlance and ranging from infusion pumps to nebulizers to CPAP machines to home dialysis machines—also come with five potential problems for users and caregivers : Home medical devices can be potentially unsafe due to their design or misuse.
They often come with little or no support for the person using the device when the Medicare beneficiary or caregiver lacks the knowledge and expertise to operate them effectively. They can be problematic in certain home environments. When they’re recalled, users don’t always know about it.
Medicare doesn’t cover their entire cost. Medicare Part B pays for 80% of the cost of durable medical equipment (after the Part B deductible, which is $240 in 2024) if a health provider determines it’s medically necessary and prescribes it. You must purchase or rent the device through a Medicare-enrolled supplier; if you have a Medicare Advantage plan from a private insurer, you must get the device from a company on its list of suppliers.
The aging population, technology improvements and Covid have contributed to the explosion in home medical devices, says Rene Quashie, vic.