Cambridge Heart Announces Unique Reimbursement Code and Medicare Payment Amount for Microvolt T-Wave Alternans
Categories: medical billing and codingCambridge Heart, Inc. (NASDAQ-CAMH) announced today that a Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code with a specific Medicare payment amount for its Microvolt T-Wave Alternans testing has been published in the Federal Register. Effective January 1, 2002, CPT code 93025 may be billed electronically. The national Medicare payment amount for the test will be $263.53.
The code is unique to Microvolt T-Wave Alternans and may be used alone or in conjunction with other diagnostic cardiovascular tests when submitting for reimbursement of claims to either Medicare or private insurers. For the first time, providers will be able to file for reimbursement of a Microvolt T-Wave Alternans Test electronically and be confident of the amount of payment.
“We are pleased to see a reimbursement amount for Microvolt T-Wave Alternans that reflects its importance as a key tool in the diagnostic armamentarium of the cardiologist,” stated David A. Chazanovitz, President and CEO of Cambridge Heart, Inc. “Our customers can now perform an alternans test on appropriate patients knowing that the reimbursement filing process has been simplified and that a reasonable payment is available.”
Mr. Chazanovitz also stated, “This removes a significant barrier to our efforts to increase market penetration and establish broad clinical use of our technology and ultimately establish Microvolt T-Wave Alternans as a standard of care for patients at risk of sudden cardiac death.”
About the Cambridge Heart Microvolt T-Wave Alternans Test
The Cambridge Heart Microvolt T-Wave Alternans Test measures extremely subtle beat-to-beat fluctuations in a person’s heartbeat called T-wave alternans. These minute heartbeat variations - measured at one millionth of a volt - are detected at elevated heart rates. Extensive clinical research has shown that patients with symptoms of or at risk of life threatening arrhythmias who test positive for Microvolt T-Wave Alternans are at significant risk for subsequent sudden cardiac events including sudden death.
About Cambridge Heart
Cambridge Heart is engaged in the research, development and commercialization of products for the non-invasive diagnosis of cardiac disease. Using innovative technologies, the company is addressing such key problems in cardiac diagnosis as the identification of those at risk of sudden cardiac arrest, the early detection of coronary artery disease, and the prompt and accurate diagnosis of heart attack. The Company, founded in 1992, is based in Bedford, Massachusetts and is traded on the NASDAQ/NMS under the symbol CAMH. Cambridge Heart can be found on the World Wide Web at www.cambridgeheart.com.
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