Impulse Dynamics – the company for which I’m Executive VP of Product Development – announced that it has secured transitional pass-through (TPT) payment for the OPTIMIZER Smart System for the treatment of heart failure.
CMS has affirmed the substantial clinical improvement that Cardiac Contractility Modulation (CCM™ therapy) offers to patients with heart failure and adjusted the payment offered for the technology accordingly to facilitate access. The new payment, issued on Friday, Nov. 1, 2019 in CMS’s calendar year 2020 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) final rule, eases access to CCM therapy in the hospital outpatient setting, with improved reimbursement taking effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
The OPTIMIZER Smart System offers CCM therapy for heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction who are still suffering from the debilitating effects of the disease despite guideline-directed medical therapy. CCM is a unique electrical therapy delivered during the heart’s absolute refractory period, which is just after the heart muscle contracts. In contrast to a pacemaker or defibrillator, CCM works by modulating the strength of the heart muscle contraction rather than the rhythm. It helps the heart contract more forcibly, increasing the efficiency of each beat.
