Carley Sanya, Bansal Shreya, Harak Charles, Kahn Peter, Konisky David M, Simon Kosali
Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
Climate Policy Initiative, San Francisco, USA.
Sci Rep. 2024 Dec 28;14(1):31152. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-82464-x.
Those who rely on durable medical equipment (DME) for their health are more likely to be energy insecure and face higher energy burdens than those who do not. In this article, we evaluate the costs of electricity to run DMEs. We find that the average cost across the most common types of high-frequency DMEs-including oxygen concentrators, continuous positive airway pressure machines, and peritoneal kidney dialysis machines-is between $120 and $333 per year, depending on device size and usage frequency. Some DMEs can cost more than $700 per year to operate, which is an increase of over 40% above the average household bill, and well over that in in states with higher electricity prices. We conclude with a discussion of how public policy can address this challenge through tighter disconnection protections and more expansive health insurance coverage.
与不依赖耐用医疗设备（DME）的人相比，那些依靠DME来维持健康的人更有可能面临能源不安全问题，并且承受更高的能源负担。在本文中，我们评估了运行DME的电费成本。我们发现，包括制氧机、持续气道正压通气机和腹膜肾透析机在内的最常见类型的高频DME的平均每年成本在120美元至333美元之间，这取决于设备尺寸和使用频率。一些DME每年的运行成本可能超过700美元，这比家庭平均电费高出40%以上，在电价较高的州更是远高于此。我们最后讨论了公共政策如何通过更严格的断电保护和更广泛的医疗保险覆盖来应对这一挑战。
