On July 25, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) convened a panel of the Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC) to obtain recommendations regarding procedural volume requirements for hospitals and heart team members to begin and maintain transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) programs.

Prior to the panel, the ACC, along with the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, released an updated Expert Consensus Systems of Care document regarding operator and institutional recommendations and requirements for TAVR. Representatives from each society endorsed the document, highlighting the importance of structural requirements for infrastructure, commitment to care and experience to ensure a foundation to initiate and maintain aortic valve disease care and measure outcomes. Joseph E. Bavaria, MD, FACC, and Carl L. Tommaso, MD, FACC, attended the meeting to summarize the recommendations from the Expert Consensus document. John D. Carroll, MD, FACC, presented lessons from the STS/ACC TVT Registry on behalf of the College.

"The ACC appreciates the opportunity to participate in the MEDCAC meeting on TAVR as CMS considers changes to Medicare coverage of this life-saving therapy," said ACC President C. Michael Valentine, MD, FACC. "The presentations by medical societies and the recently published Expert Consensus document on operator and institutional requirements support infrastructure, volume and outcome standards that ensure quality patient care."

Feedback from the MEDCAC will inform coverage changes to the TAVR national coverage determination (NCD), currently under review by CMS. The College is in the process of finalizing public comments on the NCD for submission prior to the July 27 deadline. Stay tuned for more information.

For the latest updates via social media, follow @ACCinTouch and @Cardiology.

Keywords: ACC Advocacy, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, Aortic Valve, Thoracic Surgery, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S., Medicaid, Medicare, Societies, Medical, Heart Defects, Congenital, Heart Valve Diseases, Registries, Patient Care, Surgeons, Angiography

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