A Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Medical Policy represents the first commercial payer to issue a positive coverage policy for a new lumbar spinal stenosis treatment.
Here are five takeaways:
1. The policy, "Interspinous/Interlaminar Stabilization/Distraction Devices (Spacers)," covers Paradigm Spine's coflex Interlaminar Stabilization.
2. The coflex is a non-fusion, motion-preserving implant used to treat lumbar spinal stenosis.
3. The 4.5 million BCBS Michigan patients may now access coflex.
4. Michigan residents with Medicare and Medicaid coverage already had access to coflex.
5. The coflex has the support of 85 peer-reviewed articles, inclusive of five-year follow-up studies.