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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.
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.
Summary
This bill amends Medicare's durable medical equipment coverage to include cranial prostheses (medical wigs) for eligible beneficiaries. Coverage is available when a dermatologist, oncologist, or attending physician certifies in writing that the prosthesis is medically necessary as part of rehabilitative treatment or to address hair loss caused by autoimmune diseases, cancer, or chemotherapy. The bill specifies that Medicare will only cover cranial prostheses that meet these certification requirements. This provision expands Medicare coverage to include a medical device that helps address hair loss from specific health conditions.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Richard Blumenthal’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT $9,500
- FREEPOINT COMMODITIES LLC $6,600
- ALIX PARTNERS $6,600
- PALANTIR $6,600
- KRUX INC. $6,600
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Richard Blumenthal → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Feb 12, 2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. · senate
- Feb 12, 2026 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
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;”. <all>
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