ICDs (implantable cardioverter defibrillators) coverage: Medicare extends comment period:

Medicare's administrators have extended the public comment period on the health plan's coverage policy for implantable cardioverter defibrillators from June 23 to July 23, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced. The additional time will give manufacturers and hospitals time to comment on three new questions recently posed by the agency: What is the evidence surrounding the necessity of threshold testing at the time of implantation? What is the evidence of benefits and risks of adding anti-tachycardia pacing to the function of an implantable defibrillator, including the risk of an additional lead? And finally, is there sufficient scientific justification for the development of an ICD patient registry to collect information to better identify predictors of ICD firing for ventricular fibrillation (as a proxy for sudden cardiac death)?