The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently convened a panel of the Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC) and guest speakers, including representatives of the American College of Radiology® (ACR®). MEDCAC is an advisory panel to CMS, which uses their input to make coverage determinations.
During the Sept. 22 meeting, the panel examined the growing challenges associated with gaps in evidence used to support requests for CMS to cover new and innovative cerebrovascular disease, including stroke, treatment technologies. Panel members will advise CMS about ideal health outcomes in research studies, appropriate measurement instruments and follow-up durations to help to provide clarity and transparency in evidence review and development.
The ACR was represented on the MEDCAC panel by Ella A. Kazerooni, MD, FACR, and Cecelia C. Brewington, MD, FACR. Joshua A Hirsch, MD, FACR, served as an ACR representative for a multisociety joint presentation of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR) and Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS). Speakers discussed stroke scales, outcomes from randomized control trials/limitations, quality improvement registry data and patient-reported outcomes to supplement the discussion.
The MEDCAC meeting agenda, speaker list and other materials are posted on the CMS website.
If you have any questions about the MEDCAC process, please contact Alicia Blakey, Senior Economic Policy Analyst.