Ted R. Mannen

In Unprecedented Action, CMS Posts List of 20 Potential NCD Topics

CMS tonight posted a list of 20 health care interventions that it said are potential candidates for national coverage review.  The list spans a variety of drugs, devices, and services.  Public comments on the list are due September 28. 

The CMS posting, while unprecedented, didn't come without warning.  In a guidance document finalized in April 2006, the agency had said:

New Gateway to Medicare Coverage of Preventive Services?

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has long been recognized as an important decision maker in the coverage of screening and other preventive services, for both public and private payers.  But with enactment of the new law providing the physician fee-schedule fix, the task force, an AHRQ entity that reviews evidence and issues clinical guidelines, seems poised to become a genuine gateway for the entry of certain preventive services into Medicare.