Diversification as a Recovery and Growth Strategy

Originally Published MX September/October 2002

TOPSPIN

Diversification as a Recovery and Growth Strategy

Advance preparation can mitigate an unexpected blow and enable executives to lead their companies back to success.

Karen Gilles Larson

On the road to success, today's medical device companies are well aware of the risks involved with third-party payers. As the single largest payer for healthcare procedures and supplies, Medicare has significant influence over payment trends in both the public and private sectors. Obtaining—or failing to obtain—Medicare coverage approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) often means the difference between success and failure for small device companies.

Through its regional intermediaries, CMS annually issues hundreds of local coverage decisions on whether or not Medicare will pay for certain medical procedures or devices in a specific region of the country. On rare occasions, CMS has issued national noncoverage decisions. Because of the national scope of these negative decisions, their impact can be momentous and far-reaching for all those affected.

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