Life-Saving Medical Devices Get Fast Medicare Cash Under Rule (1)

Medical device companies will get faster Medicare payments for their life-saving products under an agency rule finalized Tuesday.

The regulation allows Medicare to start paying for certain devices right after they get a green light from the Food and Drug Administration. It will cut down the roughly nine to 12 months it usually takes for a new device to get Medicare reimbursement.

“Medicare beneficiaries have not had predictable, immediate access to innovative breakthrough devices,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said in a statement.

The goal is to encourage more companies to build equipment to treat or ...