Focused-ultrasound developer InSightec said the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has created a new billing code for MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) treatment of pain palliation of metastatic bone lesions, and has established a Medicare payment rate for hospital outpatient departments.
The new code, C9734, took effect on April 1 and was assigned to ambulatory payment classification (APC) group 0067 (level III stereotactic radiosurgery, MRgFUS, and MEG), InSightec said. The company's ExAblate MRgFUS system has U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for pain palliation of bone metastases and for uterine fibroids.
