Radiology societies urge commercial payers to update coverage for key interventional procedure
By Admin | June 09, 2025
Radiology societies are urging commercial insurers to update coverage for a key interventional procedure.
A total of 10 professional associations—also representing pain medicine, anesthesia and rehab specialists—recently messaged more than a dozen payers across the U.S. They’re concerned about coverage for balloon kyphoplasty, used to treat vertebral compression fractures.
The minimally invasive procedure utilizes a balloon-like device to prevent bones from collapsing, providing relief from painful breaks in the spine. A recently published meta-analysis found that early treatment with balloon kyphoplasty provides “statistically significant” improvement in pain scores when compared to later interventions delivered four weeks after an injury.
Given this evidence, the Society of Interventional Radiology, American College of Radiology and others want payers to update policies to align with Medicare, permitting surgical intervention within one month.
“Conclusions by study authors highlight the clinical benefits of early intervention on achieving appropriate pain control and kyphotic correction,” ACR, SIR, the American Society of Neuroradiology and the American Society of Spine Radiology wrote May 9. “Given these findings, we urge you to consider...(More)
For more info please read, Radiology societies urge commercial payers to update coverage, by Radiology Business
