June 29, 2007
On June 13, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) posted a National Coverage Announcement (NCA), which “will evaluate the available evidence for CTA when used to diagnose coronary artery disease and determine if a national coverage determination is warranted.” CMS is seeking public comment because the agency is “concerned that despite the lack of clinical evidence to demonstrate improved patient health outcomes with CTA, the procedure has been rapidly adopted by the clinical community.”
ASNC will be joining with the ACC, SCAI, SCCT and the American College of Radiology in commenting to CMS regarding the National Coverage Announcement on CTA. In particular, ASNC is troubled by the narrow view of CMS that CTA has only "two potential uses: 1) a substitute for invasive coronary angiography and 2) evaluation of chest pain in the emergency room."
We encourage ASNC members to submit their individual comments to the agency by visiting the CMS website at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/mcd/viewtrackingsheet.asp?id=206 and clicking on the orange "comment" box in the upper right hand corner of the announcement. CMS considers all public comments, and is particularly interested in clinical studies and other scientific information relevant to the technology under evaluation. The agency also notes that it is especially interested in recommendations as to the types of studies needed if the evidence is determined to be premature for coverage.
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