Five more Blue Cross Blue Shield health plans have extended coverage to Inspire Medical Systems’ (NYSE:INSP) sleep apnea therapy, the company said today.
These plans and the effective dates of their coverage are:
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- Independence Blue Cross, in Pennsylvania, March 4, 2019;
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, Feb. 20, 2019;
- Wellmark, in Iowa and South Dakota, Jan. 1, 2019;
- HealthNow New York, April 1, 2019
- BCBS of Kansas City, March 1, 2019.
Together, these plans provide coverage for approximately 8.5 million members. Thirteen BCBS plans covering about 25 million members have issued coverage policies for the company’s technology since a January 7 BCBSA Evidence Street report said there is sufficient evidence to determine that Inspire therapy results in a meaningful improvement in net health outcomes for patients meeting specified criteria.
The Maple Grove, Minn.-based company’s technology is a closed-loop, pacemaker-like system designed to stimulate nerves to keep airways open during sleep to treat obstructive sleep apnea.
“We continue to work with many payers across the U.S. to develop positive coverage policies of Inspire therapy,” said Inspire president & CEO Tim Herbert in a prepared statement. “The specific plans we are announcing today are in important target geographic areas where there are a significant number of implanting physicians. These positive coverage policies will now provide enhanced access to Inspire therapy, and we remain committed to making Inspire more accessible to more patients in the future.”
