Could Medicare Change Expand Demand for Blood Pressure Monitors?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced an expansion in coverage for Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM). This extension expands to all Medicare beneficiaries who have abnormal blood pressure rates when in a clinical setting. Not only is this great news for patients but for manufacturers as well. With an increase in approvals for beneficiaries, manufacturers can expect to help provide many more of these medical devices to clinical facilities. Coverage for Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitors Previously, CMS only covered use of the monitors for patients with blood pressure readings with “White Coat Hypertension.” White coat hypertension is anxiety with being in a medical facility setting. This condition tends to increase a patient’s blood pressure to a much higher level than what that patient’s blood pressure may be outside of a medical facility setting. With this new decision, coverage will extend the access of this critical piece of medical equipment to also include patients with suspected masked hypertension. Masked hypertension occurs when a patient’s blood pressure measurements are lower in a physician’s office compared with those outside a clinical setting, which is the exact opposite of white coat hypertension. Medicare covers the use of the monitor once per year for each patient. If the patient is eligible and cov...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Business Source Type: news