Check Your Insurance or Medicare to See If You Qualify for Home Medical Equipment

By Dolly Moiseeff

Sometimes the simplest thing can make your life so much better.

If you have private health insurance or Medicare you may be eligible to receive home medical equipment that can improve your quality of life.

Medicare and some insurance policies will cover equipment that is durable or long lasting and considered medically necessary. Of course the equipment must be prescribed by a doctor and used only in the home setting. The equipment probably won’t be totally cost free, but your share is likely to be only a percentage.  For those covered by Medicare expect to pay 20 percent.

There’s a lot of help to be had.

Do you snore? If you’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea, you may be eligible for a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device. This machine blows air at a prescribed pressure to prevent apnea – a disorder where you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep. These pauses are sometimes accompanied by a loud snort or choking sound and, well, snoring.

A hospital bed may be available if you need your body to be positioned to alleviate pain, prevent contractures and avoid respiratory infections in ways not possible in an ordinary bed.

A water pressure pad and mattress are available too if you are completely immobile.

If you have obstructive pulmonary disease you may qualify for a nebulizer used to administer medications. There are also oxygen systems for certain respiratory problems.  Check with your doctor.

Asthmatics may be eligible for peak flow meters for self monitoring, allowing you to measure how well air moves out of your lungs.

Need help moving from your bed to a chair? There are patient lifts, that are often covered by policies.

Seat lift mechanisms may help if you have severe arthritis of the hip or knee, muscular dystrophy or other neuromuscular disease. Your policy may cover this.

Walkers, wheelchairs and power wheelchairs are often considered home medical equipment under certain conditions.

This is by no means a complete list of what may be available to you. There are many more pieces of home medical equipment for very specific needs.

Talk to your doctor about medical equipment that may make things just a little easier for you or a loved one.

Kindred Spirits Senior care can be a resource to you.  We are a non-medical home care agency providing assistance in daily acts of living.  Contact us at 248-773-7660 or visit our website, www.kindredspiritscare.com.