Durable medical equipment errors vary

Although the error rates for overall Medicare Fee-for-Service payments are steadily declining, officials are having a hard time controlling erroneous payments to durable medical equipment (DMEs) supplies, which provide wheel chairs and oxygen tanks to patients.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services uses a measure called the Comprehensive Error Rate Testing program to track its mistakes.

In 2007, the overall Medicare error rate was 3.9 percent, while the rate for DMEs was 10.3 percent. That was an increase over 2006’s 7.5 percent.

The 2005 figure was 8.6 percent.