Medicare Approved Facilities/Trials/Registries

In recent years, Medicare has issued several national coverage determinations providing coverage for services and procedures of a complex nature, with the stipulation that the facilities providing these services meet certain criteria. This criteria usually requires, in part, that the facilities meet the minimum standards to ensure the safety of beneficiaries receiving these services in order to be considered as a provider with the ability and expertise to perform the procedure. Being certified as a Medicare approved facility is required for performing the following procedures: carotid artery stenting, VAD destination therapy, bariatric surgery, certain oncologic PET scans in Medicare-specified studies, and lung volume reduction surgery.