On Wednesday, March 12, 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will not move forward with a national coverage determination (NCD) for computed tomographic angiography (CTA) at this time.  CMS has decided to keep the coverage at the local level, through the local level determination process, as is currently in place.

ASNC commends CMS for its decision to keep coverage at the local level and thanks our membership for the efforts undertaken to ensure that CMS not move forward with a premature NCD that would be both harmful to patients and the development of this important technology.  Since the release of the proposed decision memo, ASNC worked diligently in informing CMS of the clinical value of CTA and its benefits to both patients and providers.

The final decision memo posted on the CMS Web site is available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/mcd/viewdecisionmemo.asp?id=206.