Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to reimburse investigational device exemption (IDE) devices:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The US Department of Health & Human Services is expected to announce soon that the Health Care Financing Administration will reimburse new investigational technologies, reports Clinica's Washington correspondent, Duffy Miller. As indicated at the Utah International Medical Congress last month (see Clinica No 669/70, p 9), the FDA supports Medicare payment for "evolutionary" IDEs. HCFA is expected to be required to pay for Medicare patients enrolled in clinical trials of "advanced and promising" technology. Only products representing "refinements" of approved devices would be reimbursable - the FDA will assist HCFA in identifying these products. Medicare estimates that some $7 million will be paid next year for IDEs.