Close up image of a caretaker helping older woman walk

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has disclosed that Medicare will cover ultrasonic stimulation therapy prescribed to help heal broken bones.

The expanded coverage for the ultrasound treatment will be available for beneficiaries only after surgery has failed and their fractures remain unhealed. CMS will continue to monitor the treatment to evaluate its benefit for a wider use, according to officials.

Smith & Nephew PLC, the maker of the Exogen Bone Healing System, requested that CMS consider limited coverage for the therapy, which the company claims can help heal broken bones faster. Broken bones typically heal in two to three months but can take longer in older people.

Approximately half of the 900,000 people hospitalized each year because of fractures are age 65 and older, according to Medicare officials.