ARTICLE SUMMARY:
Industry groups that felt burned by CMS’ repeal last year of an automatic medtech Medicare coverage pathway and academics who helped lead opposition against such a plan are both expressing hope for a compromise Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies program, but details are lacking.
There have been some recent signs of consensus building around the prospects of a meaningful CMS-proposed streamlined coverage pathway for new medtech. But the proposal itself and the details that could foment debate are still lacking.
CMS itself kicked off the positive vibes with an article published by top agency officials in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine October 12. The piece affirmed the agency’s plans to issue a Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies proposal in “the coming months.” The plan will abide by four main principles, write Lee Fleisher, MD, head of CMS’ Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, and Jonathan Blum, CMS principal deputy administrator:
