Medtech firms couldn’t convince the US Medicare agency to propose additional temporary payments under Medicare for non-opioid pain management device alternatives in its proposed rule for outpatient hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. In response, industry advocacy group AdvaMed plans to gather more data in support of payment incentives before a mid-September deadline comes for comments on the rule.

The US Medicare agency approved a new technology add-on payment (NTAP) for T2 Biosystems’ blood test, the T2Bacteria panel, for the fiscal year that will begin on 1 October.

The US Medicare agency revised and clarified its policies on how it evaluates new technology add-on payments and highlighted its new policy on payments for FDA-approved breakthrough devices, in a final 2020 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) rule released on 5 August.

The US Medicare agency has been scrutinizing two new devices that have generated some buzz within the industry for pass-through payment status under its proposed 2020 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) rules. The devices are Procept BioRobotic’s AquaBeam System for removal of prostate tissue in men with urinary tract symptoms, and Boston Scientific’s Eluvia drug-eluting stent for treatment of peripheral artery disease.

A new US House bill would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ innovation center to test some telehealth service models to enhance access to care for beneficiaries in remote areas of the country.

US hospitals would have to reveal on a public website their standard charges and insurer-negotiated prices for a long list of device-related procedures, advanced imaging scans, and lab tests under a proposed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule released on 29 July.