The National ICD Registry Working Group, chaired by Dr. Stephen Hammill, FHRS, submitted a letter (PDF, 284K) to the Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services on July 17, 2006 detailing recommendations on how to address evidence determination requirements needed to resolve current Medicare coverage restrictions.

The Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services positively responded to these recommendations in their letter (PDF, 76K) dated August 3, 2006 indicating they:

“...agree that an analysis of information about device therapy and Medicare claims will result in the answering all three “Group B” questions. Once the appropriate data is collected, analyzed, and made public, CMS can reconsider our current ICD decision and determine whether to remove the coverage with evidence (CED) requirements.”

For further information, contact Joel Harder at (202) 464-3489 or jharder@hrsonline.org.