Dear AVF Members,
On July 1, CMS will be instituting a prior authorization requirement that was announced last year.
Most vein procedures that are performed in a hospital outpatient setting will be affected by this change.
On May 28th, 2020, CMS had an Open Forum on their new program, and Dr. Mark Iafrati, Chair of the AVF Health Policy Committee participated. Dr. Iafrati has provided a summary of the Open Forum, as well as copies of the slides used.
As mentioned, this program affects prior authorization for vein ablation procedures in a hospital outpatient setting only, at this time. Of course, the concern is that in the future, this will extend to all outpatient settings. The AVF Health Policy Committee, along with our sister societies, will be monitoring for future CMS decisions concerning vein ablation policies.
Thank you to Dr. Mark Iafrati for this important information for our members.
Dr. Hal Welch
AVF President