Home Health & Hospice Week

Report highlights generous Medicare coverage.

If law- or policymakers are looking for places to cut Medicare spending, a new report might give them a target.

Background: “Medicare covers ‘durable’ medical devices, but disposable devices — which are used one time — are generally not covered,” the Government Accountability Office says in a new report, “Spending on Certain Disposable Wound Care Devices in Home Health.” An exception is disposable negative pressure wound therapy devices that “apply airtight pressure to cover wounds, such as diabetic ulcers, and suction away fluid to promote healing,” the GAO explains. That exception is due to The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, which required the separate payment for the items starting Jan. 1, 2017.

From January 2017 to June 2018, Medicare covered 3,978 disposable NPWT devices furnished by home health agencies, with spending, including beneficiary coinsurance, totaling $923,340, the GAO says in a report summary. Medicare paid $735,490, and the average payment per furnished device was $185.

“Outside of Medicare, GAO found limited coverage for disposable NPWT devices for use in the home,” the agency notes in the report at www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-42R.