The retired school aide has leg pain caused by clogged blood vessels. Until recently, monitored walking wasn’t an option for people with peripheral artery disease, or PAD, because most insurance doesn’t cover it.
Medicare has decided to pay for supervised exercise therapy for older Americans hobbled by PAD, a serious condition linked to smoking and diabetes that puts people in danger of heart attacks, strokes and amputations. It costs Medicare nearly $4 billion a year on surgeries and procedures to treat it.
Research shows treadmill workouts overseen by a medical professional improve the distances patients can walk and their quality of life.