Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR) said today that angioplasty treatments with drug-coated balloons will now be eligible for new technology add-on payments through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under Medicare’s hospital impatient prospective payment systems.
The add-on payment, with a maximum of $1,036, will help cover additional costs for treating patients for peripheral artery disease with Bard’s Lutonix and Medtronic’s In.Pact Admiral drug-coated balloon during inpatient settings. The new coverage is slated to go into effect October 1.
“Medtronic has been leading the efforts with CMS to enhance access to DCB technology for the Medicare population, based on the substantially improved clinical outcomes in patients with PAD in the superficial femoral artery treated with theIn.Pact Admiral DCB technology, including significantly fewer repeat interventions and improved quality of life for these patients. Today’s decision will ultimately help to improve patient access to the In.Pact Admiral DCB, which provides significant improvement to the standard of care,” veep of Medtronic’s peripheral vascular business Brian Verrier said in a press release.
Medtronic said the In.Pact DCB won approval for transitional pass-through payment from CMS under the Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system in February this year.
“After providing reimbursement in the outpatient setting earlier this year, CMS has now provided additional reimbursement for the Lutonix DCB in the inpatient setting, which demonstrates the benefit to patients from this breakthrough technology,” CEO Timothy Ring said in a prepared statement.
The Lutonix was the first DCB approved by the FDA, C.R. Bard said.
C.R. Bard posted a classic beat-&-raise 2nd quarter last week, topping both sales and earnings expectations and raising its outlook for the rest of the year.
