The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has revised the way Medicare administrative contractors make local coverage determinations for medical technologies, as required by the 21st Century Cures Act to promote transparency. Among other changes, the updated process expands who can participate on the contractor advisory committees that inform LCDs, opens CAC meetings to the public and requires a standardized summary of the clinical evidence supporting an LCD decision. CMS said the changes, published as an update to the Medicare Program Integrity Manual, will clarify and simplify the LCD process so that companies can get therapies and devices to patients more efficiently.

Related News Articles

Headline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Sept. 18 released a final rule on policy and technical changes to Medicare Advantage, the Medicare…
Headline
The AHA submitted a statement Sept. 17 for a House Ways and Means Committee markup session on a series of health care and other bills. Specifically, the AHA…
Headline
Corey Feist, CEO and co-founder of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation, and Tiffany Lyttle, R.N., director of cultural integration at Centra Health, discuss…
Headline
The AHA Sept. 15 expressed support for the Ensuring Access to Essential Providers Act, legislation that would require Medicare Advantage plans to cover…
Headline
The AHA Sept. 15 urged Aetna to rescind its recently announced “level of severity inpatient payment” policy, saying that it “could erode the transparency…
Headline
A Gallup report published Sept. 9 found that nearly 48 million Americans currently have or are being treated for depression. The total, which equals 18.3% of…