CMS Floats Coverage Policy for Breakthrough Devices

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently unveiled a new plan to offer four years of Medicare coverage for any medical devices cleared or approved through the FDA’s breakthrough devices program. The news won raves from medical device associations, but the offer comes with a postmarket study requirement that may exceed the demands usually imposed by the FDA for breakthrough devices.

The CMS announcement describes the terms of the Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology (MCIT) pathway as providing coverage on the same date as the FDA marketing authorization. This coverage would last four years, an offer that assumes, but does not mandate, that the sponsor of the device continues to collect data in the postmarket realm.

Following the four years of MCIT coverage, that device would have to be covered by one of the conventional Medicare coverage mechanisms. In addition to national and local coverage determinations, the CMS press release cites claim-by-claim decisions as one of the post-MCIT alternatives. However, the agency advised that a coverage with evidence development outcome may follow the fourth year of MCIT coverage, adding that participants may be incentivized to gather postmarket data.

CMS said the MCIT program is available only to breakthrough devices that fit within an existing Medicare benefit category, while coverage is limited to on-label use. Device makers are encouraged to communicate with the CMS during the four-year coverage period, but the agency also suggested that sponsors of MCIT devices communicate their interest in an NCD or LCD before the four years are up.

‘Reasonable and Necessary’ Defined

CMS also offered a definition for the term “reasonable and necessary,” which would eventually be codified in the regulation. This definition would address all coverage decisions, rather than being limited to the scope of the MCIT program.

As described in the regulatory notification, the first prong of the three-part test for whether a device or service meets the definition of reasonable and necessary is whether the device is safe and effective. The second prong stipulates that the device must not be strictly experimental or under investigation for the use in question, but the third prong is more complex and asks whether the device or service is appropriate for Medicare patients.

The process for determining appropriateness can be fairly complicated, starting with determining whether the device’s use is consistent with accepted standards of medical practice. The device or service must also be “at least as beneficial as an existing and medically appropriate alternative,” and must not exceed the patient’s need.

However, CMS is offering an alternative mechanism by which appropriateness can be determined. This approach hinges on whether private payers are covering the item or service, although the sponsor would have to demonstrate that the commercially insured individuals are more or less clinically homogenous with Medicare beneficiaries. Sponsors could entirely eliminate the other standards for appropriateness if they can meet this requirement for commercial payer coverage.

The proposal was met with enthusiasm by the trade associations, including the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed). Scott Whitaker, AdvaMed’s president/CEO, said in an Aug. 31 press release that the proposed rule would “help ensure the patients who need these innovative technologies have access to them.” Executives from several major device makers also lent their support in the AdvaMed statement, including Mike Mussallem, CEO of Edwards Lifesciences, and John Liddicoat, executive VP for the Americas for Medtronic.

Mark Leahey, president/CEO of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA), also supported the proposed rule, something Leahey said MDMA “has long advocated.” He said the association would continue to work with the White House, Congress and other stakeholders to “narrow the gap between regulatory and reimbursement decisions that will bolster patient care.”