To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide coverage for certain fall prevention items under the Medicare program.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill requires Medicare to cover fall prevention items, including grab bars, non-slip mats, shower chairs, and bed rails, when ordered by a physician. It also protects funding for these items from budget cuts known as sequestration.
Who Benefits and How
Medicare beneficiaries, particularly elderly and disabled individuals at risk of falls, would gain access to safety equipment at no or reduced personal cost. Manufacturers and suppliers of fall prevention products would see increased demand from a newly covered market.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Medicare program and federal taxpayers would bear the additional cost of covering these items. The sequestration exemption means other programs could face proportionally larger cuts to meet budget targets.
Key Provisions
- Adds fall prevention items (grab bars, non-slip mats, shower chairs, bed rails) to the definition of covered durable medical equipment under Medicare
- Requires a physician or practitioner order for coverage
- Exempts payments for fall prevention items from sequestration under budget control laws
- Takes effect 60 days after enactment
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Amends the Social Security Act to add coverage for fall prevention items such as grab bars, non-slip mats, shower chairs, and bed rails under Medicare, and exempts these payments from sequestration.
Key Policy Areas
Healthcare, Senior Services
Primary Purpose
Amends the Social Security Act to add coverage for fall prevention items such as grab bars, non-slip mats, shower chairs, and bed rails under Medicare, and exempts these payments from sequestration.
Policy Domains
Whole Bill
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Medicare beneficiaries at risk of falls
- Fall prevention product manufacturers and suppliers
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Medicare program (federal budget)
- Other programs subject to sequestration
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Magaziner (for himself, Ms. Norton, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Includes grab bars, non-slip mats, shower chairs, bed rails, and such other items or categories of items as the Secretary may specify.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology