Medicare Expands Coverage for Fracture Therapy

Medicare will pay for ultrasound treatments to help mend broken bones in any beneficiary whose fractures won't heal, not just patients who have undergone failed surgery, the agency said.

The expanded coverage, prompted by a request from devicemaker Smith & Nephew will be analyzed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to see how beneficial the wider use will prove, officials said. Last year, Smith & Nephew, which makes the Exogen Bone Healing System that it says can help heal broken bones faster, asked the agency to reconsider the limitation.

"We are making this bone healing treatment more widely available, while at the same time gaining knowledge that will better inform our coverage decision process," CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said.