Boston Scientific's Alair Bronchial Thermoplasty System Achieves Important Reimbursement Milestones
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that administers the Medicare program, has acknowledged the substantial clinical improvement associated with the use of the Alair® Bronchial Thermoplasty System to perform bronchial thermoplasty for the management of severe asthma. As a result, effective January 1, 2012, the Alair catheter is eligible for Medicare reimbursement through a separate "pass-through" payment when the procedure is performed in an outpatient hospital setting.
This pass-through payment will enable hospitals to receive payment for the Alair catheter in addition to Medicare's payment for the bronchial thermoplasty procedure until utilization and payment data are well established. The combined Medicare payments for the device and procedure should provide a strong benchmark for private insurers establishing reimbursement for bronchial thermoplasty.
