What type of Durable Equipment (DE) is available with ECHO?
DME is available only under the TRICARE Basic program while DE is available only under ECHO. Durable Equipment is a device or apparatus which does not qualify as DME under the TRICARE Basic program, but which is essential to the efficient arrest or reduction of a functional loss resulting from or the disabling effects of a qualifying condition as provided in the TRICARE Policy Manual, Chapter 9, Sections 2.2 – 2.4. Examples of DE covered under ECHO include special computer peripheral devices (keyboard, mouse, etc.) or software that makes a computer functional to an ECHO beneficiary with a qualifying condition that would otherwise limit or prohibit the beneficiary’s ability to use the computer; or an electrical/mechanical lifting device that raises an ECHO beneficiary in a wheelchair from ground level to the first floor level of the beneficiary’s residence.
