Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 2.djvu/486

 104 STAT. 1388-78 PUBLIC LAW 101-508—NOV. 5, 1990 payments shall be made in accordance with clause (V);"; (E) by inserting after clause (v) of subparagraph (A) (as amended by subparagraph (C)) the following new clause: "(vi) in the case of an item for which a purchase agreement has been entered into under clause (ii) or clause (iii), maintenance and servicing payments may be made (for parts and labor not covered by the supplier's or manufacturer's warranty, as determined by the Secretary to be appropriate for the particular type of durable medical equipment), and such payments shall be in an amount established by the Secretary on the basis of reasonable charges in the locality for maintenance and servicing."; and (F) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: " (C) REPLACEMENT OF ITEMS. — "(i) ESTABLISHMENT OF REASONABLE USEFUL LIFE- TIME.—In accordance with clause (iii), the Secretary shall determine and establish a reasonable useful lifetime for items of durable medical equipment for which payment may be made under this paragraph or paragraph (3). " (ii) PAYMENT FOR REPLACEMENT ITEMS. — If the reasonable lifetime of such an item, as so established, has been reached during a continuous period of medical need, or the carrier determines that the item is lost or irreparably damaged, the patient may elect to have payment for an item serving as a replacement for such item made— "(I) on a monthly basis for the rental of the replacement item in accordance with subparagraph (A); or "(II) in the case of an item for which a purchase agreement has been entered into under subparagraph (A)(ii) or (A)(iii), in a lump-sum amount for the purchase of the item, " (iii) LENGTH OF REASONABLE USEFUL LIFETIME. —The reasonable useful lifetime of an item of durable medical equipment under this subparagraph shall be equal to 5 years, except that, if the Secretary determines that, on the basis of prior experience in making pay- ments for such an item under this title, a reasonable useful lifetime of 5 years is not appropriate with respect to a particular item, the Secretary shall establish an alternative reasonable lifetime for such item.". (3) APPLICATION OF REASONABLE USEFUL LIFETIME FOR ITEMS REQUIRING FREQUENT AND SUBSTANTIAL SERVICING. — Soction 1834(a)(3) (42 U.S.C. 1395m(a)(3)), as amended by subsection (b)(1), is further amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: "(D) REPLACEMENT OF ITEMS. — If the reasonable useful lifetime of such an item, as established under paragraph (7)(C), has been reached during a continuous period of medical need, or the Secretary determines on the basis of investigation by the carrier that the item is lost or irreparably damaged, payment for an item serving as a replacement for such item shall be made on a monthly basis for the

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