Missouri Medicaid Budget Proposal Cuts Adult DME Coverage

Jefferson City, Mo.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt’s office has proposed a budget that calls for the elimination of adult DME and prosthetics coverage under the state’s Medicaid program.

The proposal would cut funding from $148 million last year to $52 million for the 2006 fiscal year. The cuts would not affect coverage to children, pregnant women and the blind.

“The fact that there is a two-thirds cut means significant numbers of adults would lose their DME coverage,” said Brady Vestal, director of home medical equipment at Citizen Memorial Health Care in Bolivar, Mo.

Vestal, who also serves as state chairman for the Midwest Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers (MAMES), told state lawmakers at a hearing last month that oxygen would no longer be available to Medicaid patients in the state. Missouri Medicaid currently pays a $200 monthly rental reimbursement for concentrators and $30 a month for portable systems, he said.

At a February rally a group protesting the governor’s proposal created a sculpture titled “The Governor’s Waste” — a trash bin filled with crutches, wheelchair parts, prosthetic limbs and other items — in the rotunda of the Missouri Capitol. Although no MAMES members were involved with that protest, Vestal said, the organization is coordinating a grassroots effort among providers and contacting media about the issue. And in future hearings at the state capitol, Vestal said he hopes to provide concrete numbers proving the cost-effectiveness of DME. “What is the cost to the Medicaid system for a broken hip, and how does providing a hospital bed or wheelchair benefit the state to prevent that broken hip from happening in the first place?” Vestal said. “Money spent on DME is not only compassionate but fiscally responsible.”