Does Medicare cover compression stockings?

Medicare's equipment list marks elastic stockings as not covered. Medicare sees them as a supply you use up, not equipment that lasts. So Medicare does not pay for them for:

• Tired, achy, or swollen legs
• Varicose veins or other vein problems, when there is no open sore
• Travel, or to help prevent blood clots
• Lymphedema, if no doctor has diagnosed it and ordered the garment

The brand does not change this. People often ask about Jobst stockings. What matters is why you need them and how they are billed, not who makes them.

In short: without lymphedema or an open leg ulcer, you pay for compression stockings yourself.

Lymphedema is long-lasting swelling that happens when fluid cannot drain from your tissues. Part B has a benefit just for treating it. To qualify, you must have lymphedema, and your doctor, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or clinical nurse specialist must order the items.

For each part of the body that is affected, Part B can cover:

• Compression stockings and other garments, both standard and custom-fitted
• Daytime garments: up to 3 every 6 months
• Nighttime garments: up to 2 every 2 years
• Wraps with straps you can adjust, and bandaging supplies
• Extras like aids that help you pull stockings on, liners, padding, and zippers

Medicare also pays for a new garment if one is lost, stolen, or damaged beyond repair, or if your limb size changes.

A venous leg ulcer is an open sore caused by poor blood flow in the leg veins. Part B can pay for certain compression stockings and a non-stretch wrap as a dressing over that sore. The rules are strict:

• The ulcer must be open. Once it heals, the stockings are no longer covered this way.
• The wound must have been cleaned out by a medical professional (called debridement), or made or changed by surgery.
• Vein problems with no ulcer do not count. Lymphedema with no ulcer does not count under this rule either (use Exception 1 instead).
• The wrap is limited to one every 6 months for each leg.

In short: lymphedema gets you garments on a set schedule. An open, treated leg ulcer gets you stockings only until it heals.

Medicare sets one approved amount for these items across the country. From October to December 2026:

• Standard below-knee lymphedema stocking: about $39 to $80 each, depending on how tight it is. Your 20% is about $8 to $16.
• Custom-fitted below-knee lymphedema stocking: about $226. Your 20% is about $45.
• Below-knee stocking for an open ulcer: about $62 or $87, depending on how tight it is. Your 20% is about $12 or $17.

These shares apply after you meet the $283 Part B deductible for 2026.

• If you have a Medigap plan: every plan pays some or all of your 20% share.
• If you have Medicare Advantage: your plan sets its own copay or coinsurance. Some plans offer extra benefits that Original Medicare does not. Check your plan's Evidence of Coverage.
• If you have Medicaid too: Medicaid may pay your share. Ask your state Medicaid office.

1. See your doctor. Ask whether your swelling is lymphedema, or whether your ulcer needs compression as part of its treatment. Get the diagnosis written in your record.
2. Get an order. The order should say which garment, which body part, and how tight.
3. Use a supplier enrolled in Medicare. Only an enrolled supplier can be paid for these items. A store or website that is not enrolled cannot bill Medicare.
4. Ask about assignment. A supplier that accepts assignment takes Medicare's approved amount as full payment.
5. If Medicare says no, appeal. Your Medicare Summary Notice explains how. If a supplier asks you to sign an Advance Beneficiary Notice, it means they think Medicare may deny the claim and you agree to pay if it does.