On April 9, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposal to expand its national coverage determination (NCD) for Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) to include coverage for cases of suspected "masked hypertension."

Masked hypertension occurs when blood pressure measurements in a doctor's office are lower than measurements outside a doctor's office.

The current NCD for ABPM, a noninvasive diagnostic test that uses a device to track blood pressure over 24-hour cycles, only covers the test for patients with suspected "white coat hypertension" that are not currently being treated for high blood pressure under specific conditions.

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Keywords: ACC Publications, Cardiology Magazine, Health Policy, White Coat Hypertension, Masked Hypertension, Blood Pressure, Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S., Diagnostic Tests, Routine, Blood Pressure Determination, Hypertension, Medicaid, Medicare

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