payment for purchase of durable medical equipment

payment for purchase of durable medical equipment Sec. 132. (a) Section 1861(s)(6) of the Social Security Act is amended by striking out “rental or”, and by inserting before the semi-colon at the end thereof the following: “, whether furnished on a rental basis or purchased”. (b) Section 1833 of such Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: “(f) In the case of the purchase of durable medical equipment included under section 1861 (s)(6), by or on behalf of an individual, payment shall be made in such amounts as the Secretary determines to be equivalent to payments that would have been made under this part had such equipment been rented and over such period of time as the Secretary finds such equipment would be used for such individual’s medical treatment, except that with respect to purchases of inexpensive equipment (as determined by the Secretary) payment may be made in a lump sum if the Secretary finds that such method of payment is less costly or more practical than periodic payments.” (c) The amendments made by this section shall apply only with respect to items purchased after December 31, 1967.