CMS releases final update to coverage for ICDs

Editor's Note

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized an update to its coverage policy for implantable cardiac devices (ICDs), the February 16 Modern Healthcare reports.

The update expedites patient access by eliminating the waiting period for patients with an existing ICD to obtain a replacement device after a heart attack or coronary revascularization procedure.

CMS also removed the description “independent” in its recommendation on shared decision-making conversation. In the proposed version of the rule, CMS suggested that a shared decision-making conversation take place with an independent physician or qualified non-physician practitioner. 

The CMS has finalized an overhaul of its coverage policy for implantable cardiac devices, expediting patient access and cutting regulatory burden for providers using the products. The coverage update announced Thursday, is the first major change to Medicare's implantable cardioverter defibrillator, or ICD, coverage in more than a decade.

Read More >>