UnitedHealthcare and Aetna have reversed their spinal procedure policies to cover Xtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion, or XLIF, according to news releases from NuVasive, a medical device company focused on developing products for minimally invasive spine surgery.
Previously, both insurers had labeled XLIF as "unproven" or "experimental and investigational" in the treatment of spine disorders, according to the releases.
UnitedHealthcare has removed XLIF from the list of unproven spinal fusion techniques and adds coding clarification in line with the North American Spine Society recommendation letter dated Jan. 5, 2010, according to the release.
Aetna indicates lateral interbody fusion is considered an acceptable method of performing a medically necessary anterior interbody fusion, in accordance with the same NASS recommendation letter, according to the release.
Read the NuVasive release about UnitedHealthcare's policy reversal.
Read the NuVasive release about Aetna's policy reversal.