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CMS Makes Policy Waves With Pullback Of Longstanding TENS Coverage

The new finalized coverage policy for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for treating chronic back pain is a rare decision by the agency to reverse coverage on an established technology, and is a new direction for the coverage-with-evidence-development program, observers say.

CMS moved ahead with a restrictive coverage-with-evidence-development policy for a long-used chronic back pain therapy over the protests of product stakeholders and broader device industry interests who worry about the precedent it sets.

The agency issued its final national coverage decision memo for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for treating chronic back pain June 8, sticking with the basic approach laid out...

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