What Types of Devices Qualify as Covered Durable Medical Equipment?

An accomplished executive in the healthcare services industry, Chris Manfuso is the founder and CEO of Physician Ancillary Management in Charleston, South Carolina. Responsible for providing durable medical equipment (DME), medication-dispensing management systems, and health and urine toxicology screenings to healthcare providers, Chris Manfuso has helped his company retain nearly 100 percent of customers and increase sales threefold over a three-year period.

DME is the designation for long-term reusable devices that provide therapeutic benefit or help elderly, disabled, or ill people meet their basic personal care needs with greater ease. The cost of some types of DME are covered by insurance or other programs.

To qualify as DME, products typically must serve a medical purpose and be prescribed by a medical provider. The durable products are designed to be reused over and over in the patient’s home. When the appropriate conditions are met, many government and private plans cover all or part of the DME costs. Common types of DME used in homes are hospital beds, mobility aids, bath chairs, prostheses, orthotics, oxygen ventilators, and more.