Medicare News
| For Immediate Release: | Contact: |
| Tuesday, November 06, 2001 | CMS Office of Public Affairs 202-690-6145 |
For questions about Medicare please call 1-800-MEDICARE or visit www.medicare.gov. |
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MEDICARE TO EXPAND COVERAGE OF TREATMENT FOR SLEEP DISORDER
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today it intends to expand Medicare coverage of devices that help people with the sleep disorder called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
CMS will issue a revised National Coverage Decision on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices for the treatment of OSA, making it available for more Medicare beneficiaries.
"This should be a welcome change for many Medicare beneficiaries who may not have been qualified for CPAP therapy under current policy," said CMS Administrator Thomas A. Scully. "This decision follows our continuing effort to make the latest effective technology available to the senior citizens and people with disabilities served by the Medicare program."
Under a national coverage policy established in 1987 Medicare only covered CPAP in beneficiaries with moderate to severe OSA. With this revision, Medicare will lower the threshold for coverage eligibility and will cover CPAP even in beneficiaries who have mild, symptomatic OSA.
OSA is a condition involving brief periods of shallow breathing and cessation of breathing when collapse of the upper airway obstructs air flow. CPAP is a non-invasive device that prevents collapse of the upper airway by providing low levels of air pressure from a flow generator via a nose mask.
CMS decided to reconsider its coverage policy after receiving inquires from manufacturers, clinicians and professional associations expressing concern that the current national coverage policy was outdated and inconsistent with today's standards of practice.
The effective date of this new coverage will be announced later.
More information on this coverage decision is available at www.hcfa.gov/coverage/8b3-bbb.htm
