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Diabetic Footwear

Diabetic Footwear

Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. People with diabetes have problems converting food to energy. After a meal, food is broken down into a sugar called glucose, which is carried by the blood to cells throughout the body. Cells use the hormone insulin, made in the pancreas, to help them process blood glucose into energy.

People develop type 2 diabetes because the cells in the muscles, liver, and fat do not use insulin properly. Eventually, the pancreas cannot make enough insulin for the body's needs. As a result, the amount of glucose in the blood increases while the cells are starved of energy. Over the years, high blood glucose damages nerves and blood vessels, leading to complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, nerve problems, gum infections, and amputation.

The Good News
While people with diabetes are a greater risk for foot problems, studies have shown that comprehensive foot care programs can reduce and even prevent foot-related complications and can reduce amputation rates by as much as 85%. Click here to read the do’s and don’t of daily foot care for people with diabetes.

Medicare’s Therapeutic Shoe Bill
With the passing of the Therapeutic Shoe Bill, Medicare (Part B) extended coverage to diabetic patients for footwear and foot inserts. Protective footwear can help in the fight to prevent thousands of diabetic amputations that occur each year.

What is covered?
Coverage is limited to 1 of the following with 1 calendar year:

• 1 pair of off-the-shelf depth shoes and up to 3 additional pair of multi-density inserts.
• 1 pair of off-the-shelf depth shoes including modification, and up to 2 additional pair of
  multi-density inserts.
• 1 pair of custom-molded shoes and up to 2 additional pair of multi-density inserts.

Coverage is limited to shoes and inserts meeting certain requirements for patients with specific clinical conditions. Call us today for more information 515-243-1443.