Health Care Financing Administration--Medicare program; payment for durable medical equipment. Final rule

This regulation establishes criteria and procedures for payment for new and used durable medical equipment for beneficiaries under Part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program. It implements Section 16 of the Medicare-Medicaid Anti-Fraud and Abuse Amendments of 1977 (P.L. 95-142). Section 16 provides of purchase of durable medical equipment when purchase is less costly or more practical than rental, and authorizes the Secretary to take necessary administrative steps to encourage the availability of this equipment to beneficiaries on a lease-purchase basis. The purpose is to reduce program costs caused by long and costly rentals of equipment and reduce beneficiary expenses for annual deductibles and coinsurance for unnecessarily long rentals.