ROCKLAND, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BioSphere Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: BSMD) (“BioSphere”), a medical device company that pioneered the use of bioengineered microspheres to treat uterine fibroids, hypervascularized tumors and vascular malformations, today provided an update on physician reimbursement for the uterine fibroid embolization procedure (UFE). On November 1, 2006, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its preliminary rule providing for a single, all-inclusive Category I CPT code for UFE. Assuming that this preliminary rule becomes final as written, starting in 2007 a new CPT code will be designated for UFE, which is inclusive of all services occurring on the day of the procedure. The new physician reimbursement rate is expected to be lower than the rate generally received by physicians today. As previously disclosed by the company, the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) has been pursuing a single, all-inclusive Category I CPT code for UFE to supplant the multiple component coding currently utilized by physicians. The decision to pursue a new, single physician reimbursement code was made by the SIR’s Economics Committee and supported by their Executive Council. According to Robert Vogelzang, M.D., a leading UFE practitioner and RVS Update Committee (RUC) advisor, “UFE has become more prevalent and uniform and because the current literature confirms the clinical efficacy of the procedure, it is time to recognize this procedure with its own code to allow tracking of the procedures and outcomes.” This preliminary rule is not anticipated to change the reimbursement currently received by the hospital.
