CMS has proposed changes to current transcatheter aortic valve replacement Medicare coverage policies.
The agency is accepting public comment on the proposal until July 15.
Here are four notes:
1. CMS is proposing to expand coverage to include patients who present with asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis. Currently, Medicare only covers TAVR in patients who present with symptoms.
2. Certain coverage with evidence development rules would no longer be required when treating symptomatic patients, the proposal said. Historically, TAVR national coverage determination has required facilities to follow CED rules that require patient data to be collected through clinical trials or registries.
3. CMS wants to “streamline and update requirements related to pre-procedural patient assessments, intraoperative requirements and operator and hospital procedural volume requirements.”
4. CMS is no longer considering a rule change that would no longer require surgeons to participate in multidisciplinary heart team discussions prior to TAVR. This change was nixed after feedback from cardiology and cardiac surgery communities, so surgeons will remain as the composition of the heart team.
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