The American College of Cardiology, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons have called for updates as CMS considers changes to its transcatheter aortic valve replacement coverage policy, according to a July 15 news release from the ACC.
Here are five notes on what the organizations are pressing for:
- Requiring evaluation of eligible patients with severe aortic stenosis by both an interventional cardiologist and a cardiac surgeon and maintaining collaborative decision-making as a required component of care.
- Maintaining a targeted Coverage with Evidence Development pathway for patient populations where evidence gaps remain, including bicuspid AS, valve reintervention, asymptomatic severe AS, aortic regurgitation and moderate AS.
- Maintaining mandatory participation in a national audited registry, such as the STS/ACC Transcatheter Valve Therapy Registry.
- Preserving nationally standardized approaches to quality measurement, benchmarking and continuous quality improvement through registry participation and externally benchmarked performance assessment.
- Adopting a programmatic approach to facility and operator requirements to prioritize institutional performance, multidisciplinary infrastructure and quality outcomes over operator volume.
Read the full comment letter here.
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