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CMS Withdraws Proposal to Significantly Reduce Coverage of Cardiac CTA March 13, 2008
Decision to allow local Medicare coverage is hailed as victory for patients
CMS announced late yesterday that it has withdrawn its December, 2007, proposal that would have significantly reduced Medicare coverage for cardiac CT angiography. Instead, the agency will allow local Medicare contractors to continue making their own coverage decisions—a process that has put into place coverage policies for cardiac CTA throughout the U.S.
Philips Healthcare welcomed the decision as a victory for patients and high-quality, less-invasive medical care.
The CMS ruling comes after Philips Healthcare, industry partners, the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA), and numerous physician, specialty, and provider organizations conducted a broad-based campaign to convince CMS to withdraw or alter its original proposal. Philips worked closely with Members of Congress and staff in securing the support of some 88 Senators and Representatives in calling for CMS to reconsider. That included a March 7 letter signed by
In January, Philips issued a “call to action” urging customers and providers to ask their Members of Congress to weigh-in on the issue. This followed submission of formal Philips comments in which we provided a detailed criticism of the original CMS proposal and urged its withdrawal.
To read the full coverage decision, click here
To read the letter signed by 80 Members of Congress,
To read the letter from Senator Voinovich,
To read the full press statement from MITA,
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80 Members of Congress