Medicare Diabetic Shoe Program

Diabetes has become an epidemic in this country. If you havediabetes it is essential that you have your feet evaluated by a podiatrist.  Diabetics are prone to poor circulation, have a weakened immune system and impaired nerve function in their feet. The good news is that many of these potential problems can be minimized as a result of life style changes, medications and other preventive care.

Amputations, or partial amputations, of the feet and legs are also growing at an alarming rate. In fact, it is the leading cause of non-traumatic amputation in the United States. Recently a task force was created by officials from Medicare, the American Podiatric Medical Association and the American Diabetes Association in order to explore ways to reduce the number of amputations in the diabetic populations. The number of these lower extremity amputations grew by 28% in just the past several years. However, it has been determined that over half of these amputations could have been prevented by timely conservation foot care.

We at Affiliated Foot and Ankle Center, LLP are authorized Medicare Suppliers to evaluate, prescribe and dispense high quality shoe and 3 pairs of removable protective shoe inserts per calendar year. Many diabetic patients qualify for this benefit and Medicare will pay 80% of the cost for the shoes and insoles and your supplemental insurance should pay the other 20%.