[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3872 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3872

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide coverage for 
 wigs as durable medical equipment under the Medicare program, and for 
                            other purposes.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 12, 2026

Mr. Blumenthal introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide coverage for 
 wigs as durable medical equipment under the Medicare program, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PROVIDING COVERAGE FOR WIGS AS DURABLE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT 
              UNDER THE MEDICARE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 1861(n) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395x(n)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
sentence: ``Such term includes cranial prostheses furnished to an 
individual, but only where the dermatologist, oncologist, or attending 
physician of the individual certifies in writing the medical necessity 
of such prostheses as part of a proposed course of rehabilitative 
treatment or for hair loss caused by a health condition, including 
autoimmune diseases, cancer, or chemotherapy.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 1862(a)(1) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395y(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (O), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (P), by striking the semicolon and 
        inserting ``, and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
    ``(Q) in the case of cranial prostheses (as described in section 
1861(n)), which are not certified in the manner described in such 
section;''.
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