CIGNA, Humana Reverse Coverage Decisions for NUVA's XLIF
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, JANUARY 19, 2011
NuVasive announced yesterday that CIGNA and Humana have reversed prior non-coverage decisions for NuVasive's XLIF and will now cover the procedure. The company notes that all the major commercial insurance providers that once had non-coverage policies for XLIF have reversed their positions, including Aetna, United Healthcare and Health Care Service Corporation.
The XLIF procedure uses a minimally-invasive lateral approach, which had previously been deemed "experimental" by many payers. The coverage announcement is more good news for NuVasive, who recently announced that 2010 revenues and earnings exceeded guidance.
Next steps for the company include "future collaborations on spine surgery guidelines in order to provide patients access to appropriate physician-recommended treatments." NuVasive has previously spoken out on payers applying more rigorous clinical criteria to spinal fusions, particularly for patients with degenerative disc disease.
