Under Original Medicare, durable medical equipment such as a wheelchair or walker is covered by:

Why A is correct

Medicare Part B covers durable medical equipment (DME) such as wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, and oxygen equipment when the equipment is medically necessary, prescribed by a physician, and ordered for use primarily in the home. Because DME is used outside the inpatient hospital setting, it falls under Part B's medical services umbrella rather than Part A's facility-based benefits. After the Part B deductible is met, Medicare generally pays 80% of the approved amount for covered DME. Part B is therefore the correct part designation for durable medical equipment.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) Part A covers inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility, hospice, and some home health services; it does not cover durable medical equipment used at home. Part A's facility-based benefits do not extend to equipment used at home.
• C) Medicare Advantage plans must provide DME because they must furnish Part B benefits, but the underlying Original Medicare authority for DME is Part B, not Part C. MA plans merely replicate Part B benefits, so the original authority remains Part B itself.
• D) Medigap plans supplement Original Medicare cost-sharing; they do not create the original DME benefit, and DME is not a core benefit of any Medigap plan. Medigap fills cost-sharing gaps and never creates an original benefit like DME.

Memory hook

Wheels and walkers ride with Part B. Part A guards the hospital door, not the home.