Is a resident's wound not responding to conventional therapy? Medicare will cover electrical stimulation as part of a therapy plan of care to treat the following types of wounds:
Chronic Stage III or Stage IV pressure ulcers,
Arterial ulcers,
Diabetic ulcers, and
Venous stasis ulcers.
Medicare will only cover electrical stimulation after "appropriate" standard wound care has been tried for at least 30 days without producing measurable signs of wound healing. For more coverage and billing information, see program memo AB-03-093 at www.cms.gov/manuals/pm_trans/ab03093.pdf.
