Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, when determining whether an…

Official title: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take into account the health of a primary caregiver in determining whether an item of durable medical equipment is considered medically necessary and appropriate under part B of the medicare program.

Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, when determining whether an item of durable medical equipment (DME) is reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury or to improve the functioning of a malformed body member with respect to an ill or injured individual, to consider the effect of a denial of payment for the DME item on the health of the individual's live-in primary caregiver. Defines the primary caregiver as one who assists the ill or injured individual without monetary compensation in the performance of such activities of daily living as eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, and transferring in and out of a bed or a chair.