2010 Medicare Durable Medical Equipment Claims by Age and ICD-9 Diagnosis Category

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Summary

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the U.S. Federal agency responsible for the administration of the Medicare program, which provides health insurance to Americans aged 65 and older, as well as younger individuals who are disabled or suffer from End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or Lou Gehrig's Disease. CMS makes Basic Stand Alone (BSA) Medicare Claims Public Use Files (PUFs) available to the public for research into the utilization and costs associated with Medicare, including Inpatient, Outpatient, Durable Medical Equipment (DME), Hospice, Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF), and Prescription Drug claims data.

The chart above explores the total allowed from the most recently published DME claims file by age band and ICD-9 diagnosis code category. DME is defined as medically necessary durable medical equipment that is used in the home, such as wheelchairs, crutches, canes, walkers, lifts, hospital beds, blood sugar monitors, infusion pumps and supplies, nebulizers, oxygen equipment, and sleep apnea devices. Diagnosis codes are alphanumeric medical codes used on claims to denote the underlying medical condition that requires the performed service or supplied equipment. Interestingly, it is not the oldest segment of the Medicare population that has the highest DME costs.

ICD-9 Diagnosis Code Categories

Code Range	Category Description
001-139	Infectious and Parasitic Diseases
140-239	Neoplasms
240-279	Endocrine, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases, and Immunity Disorders
280-289	Diseases of the Blood and Blood-Forming Organs
290-319	Mental Disorders
320-359	Diseases of the Nervous System
360-389	Diseases of the Sense Organs
390-459	Diseases of the Circulatory System
460-519	Diseases of the Respiratory System
520-579	Diseases of the Digestive System
580-629	Diseases of the Genitourinary System
630-679	Complications of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Puerperium
680-709	Diseases of the Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue
710-739	Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue
740-759	Congenital Anomalies
760-779	Certain Conditions Originating in the Perinatal Period
780-799	Symptoms, Signs, and Ill-Defined Conditions
800-999	Injury and Poisoning
E00-Z99	External Causes of Injury and Supplemental Classification