PFCD Applauds CMS Proposal to Remove CED Requirement for TAVR, Calls on Agency to Extend Same Coverage Modernization to Alzheimer's Treatments

The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) released the following statement in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed decision to remove the CED requirement on coverage for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for symptomatic severe aortic valve stenosis (AS):  

“PFCD applauds CMS for taking the first step towards modernizing Medicare’s coverage policy for TAVR for symptomatic severe AS and resolving what had become one of the longest-running CED requirements in the program’s history. This important step reflects more than a decade of real-world evidence demonstrating that TAVR is a safe, effective, and often less invasive option for older adults living with symptomatic, severe aortic stenosis – a serious, progressive chronic condition with poor outcomes if left untreated. Aligning coverage with today’s clinical evidence will help reduce avoidable disability, hospitalizations, and deaths, and will support better quality of life for patients and caregivers.”

We hope this action to remove CED limitations on Medicare coverage for TAVR signals a broader receptiveness by CMS to reconsider other CED policies, including those applied to FDA-approved therapies that slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

CMS’s proposed decision to retire the TAVR CED for symptomatic, severe AS shows that when evidence accumulates, Medicare can and should act to remove coverage barriers. Patients living with Alzheimer’s disease deserve the same timely Medicare coverage of FDA-approved medications that patients living with other serious chronic illnesses enjoy.

This decision is also responsive to the voices of patients and voters. National polling shows strong support for expanding access to TAVR, and separate polling indicates that voters overwhelmingly want policymakers to prioritize Alzheimer’s disease and remove barriers to treatment. Across conditions, the public is clear: Medicare coverage should keep pace with science and ensure access to clinically appropriate care.

We stand ready to work with CMS, Congress, and stakeholders to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries can benefit from timely access to innovations that improve and extend lives.”

Learn more about PFCD’s work on improving access to Alzheimer’s innovations:

• Policy Brief: Unlock Medicare Restrictions on Alzheimer’s Treatments

• Fact Sheet: A Cumbersome Path to Treatment: Is this the New Norm?

• Fact Sheet: Leaving Medicare Beneficiaries in Limbo