Document Detail


Wheelchairs, walkers, and canes: what does Medicare pay for, and who benefits?
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  16012154     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Medicare's role in the distribution of mobility-related assistive technology has not been well documented, yet rapid growth and regional variation in spending, and concerns over "in-the-home" coverage criteria, highlight the need for facts. Using the 2001 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, we find that 6.2 percent percent of beneficiaries obtained mobility assistive technology under the Medicare durable medical equipment (DME) benefit. These beneficiaries were disproportionately poor, disabled, and users of both acute and postacute services. Average per item spending ranged from $52 for canes to $6,208 for power wheelchairs. Among beneficiaries who acquired such technology through the DME benefit, these devices comprised just 2 percent of overall Medicare spending.
Authors:
Jennifer L Wolff; Emily M Agree; Judith D Kasper
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Health affairs (Project Hope)     Volume:  24     ISSN:  0278-2715     ISO Abbreviation:  Health Aff (Millwood)     Publication Date:    2005 Jul-Aug
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2005-07-13     Completed Date:  2005-12-15     Revised Date:  2006-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8303128     Medline TA:  Health Aff (Millwood)     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1140-9     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Health Policy and Management and Lipitz Center for Integrated Health Care, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. jwolff@jhsph.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Canes / economics*
Demography
Disabled Persons / rehabilitation*
Durable Medical Equipment / economics*
Female
Health Expenditures / statistics & numerical data*
Health Services Accessibility / economics
Humans
Male
Medicare / legislation & jurisprudence,  statistics & numerical data*
Residence Characteristics / statistics & numerical data
Self-Help Devices / economics*
Walkers / economics*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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