CMS Gets Pushback For Playing Doctor In Renal Stenting Coverage Proposal
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Stent manufacturers are urging CMS to finalize its draft coverage decision for renal stenting, though one aspect of the proposal has some wondering whether the agency is going too far in controlling physicians' interactions with patients
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Medicare Coverage News In Brief
GE T-Wave doesn't measure up: Cambridge Heart's HearTwave II microvolt T-wave alternans test would remain the only such test covered by Medicare under a Feb. 14 CMS proposal. GE Healthcare had requested that the agency expand its 2006 policy to cover the firm's Marquette MTWA test, also used to risk stratify patients who might need implantable defibrillators but with a different calculation method than HearTwave (1"The Gray Sheet" Sept. 24, 2007, p. 21); CMS says the evidence for Marquette's method is limited and not yet convincing. Perhaps more significantly, the agency notes that before finalizing its decision it will review recently reported data from the Medtronic-sponsored MASTER 1 trial, which CMS says casts doubt on the general usefulness of MTWA testing. The study could cause the agency to reassess whether MTWA, regardless of method, should be covered at all. Comments on the proposal are due March 15, and CMS will make a final decision by May 14
Medicare Coverage News In Brief
GE T-Wave doesn't measure up: Cambridge Heart's HearTwave II microvolt T-wave alternans test would remain the only such test covered by Medicare under a Feb. 14 CMS proposal. GE Healthcare had requested that the agency expand its 2006 policy to cover the firm's Marquette MTWA test, also used to risk stratify patients who might need implantable defibrillators but with a different calculation method than HearTwave (1"The Gray Sheet" Sept. 24, 2007, p. 21); CMS says the evidence for Marquette's method is limited and not yet convincing. Perhaps more significantly, the agency notes that before finalizing its decision it will review recently reported data from the Medtronic-sponsored MASTER 1 trial, which CMS says casts doubt on the general usefulness of MTWA testing. The study could cause the agency to reassess whether MTWA, regardless of method, should be covered at all. Comments on the proposal are due March 15, and CMS will make a final decision by May 14
Renal Stenting Surprise: CMS Proposes To Keep Coverage Status Quo
CMS' proposal to maintain its existing renal stenting coverage policy surprises many stakeholders who expected the agency to further restrict coverage because the data on the intervention's effectiveness is relatively weak