Medicare Administrative Contractor for Florida, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands Removes CPT 0100T from Noncovered Services Local Coverage Determination List

First Coast Service Options, Inc. (FCSO), the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Jurisdiction N (covering Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), removed CPT 0100T (Placement of a subconjunctival retinal prosthesis receiver and pulse generator, and implantation of intra-ocular retinal electrode array, with vitrectomy) from the listing of codes in the Noncovered Services Local Coverage Determination (LCD) that are considered not medically necessary and therefore not covered. This development enables coverage of the Argus II implantation procedure for Medicare patients in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Argus II implantation procedure must meet all regulatory requirements, including the medically reasonable and necessary threshold, to qualify for coverage. Centers for Medicare & Medical Services (CMS), a federal agency that runs the Medicare program, relies on a network of Medicare Administrative Contractors, or MACs, to administer and process Medicare Fee-for-Service claims across 12 regions or jurisdictions within the United States. CMS also delegates the authority to MACs to make the coverage determinations for a given service, procedure or device in the absence of a national coverage policy. Currently five Medicare jurisdictions, including CGS (Ohio and Kentucky), Palmetto GBA (Virginia, (excluding Part B for Arlington and Fairfax counties), West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina), NGS (J6 -- Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin), NGS (JK -- Connecticut, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) and FCSO (Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) provide coverage of the Argus II when medically necessary. The Company continues to work with other MACs and payers to secure additional positive coverage policies for the Argus II.