ACTION REQUESTED: Ask Medicare to Preserve Your Ability to Get a Catheter Ablation

With Medicare’s Proposed Reimbursement Cuts for Electrophysiologists, Catheter Ablations Could Become Harder for Patients to Get

September 3, 2021

  • Summary: Catheter ablations may become harder to get – here’s how you can preserve your access to them.
  • Reading time: 2–3 minutes

We need your help!

Are you a Medicare patient (in the US and 65 or more)? We need your help to preserve your ability to get an afib catheter ablation when you need one.

Medicare (CMS, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) proposes significantly decreasing the reimbursement electrophysiologists receive when doing a catheter ablation (effective January 1, 2022). Thus, catheter ablations may become more challenging to get.

CMS is seeking comments from those affected and would like to hear from afib patients.

Has having a catheter ablation improved your quality of life? Would you like to continue to have access to a catheter ablation? Then, please tell them so. 

The proposed changes would disincentivize electrophysiologists from doing catheter ablations and thus limit our ability to get them.

If you would like to preserve access to this treatment option, please provide comments to CMS no later than September 13, 2021, at https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/CMS-2021-0119-0053.

Once there, follow these simple steps that should take no more than 1–3 minutes to submit a comment.

1. Comment Field: Share that you (or a loved one) are an afib patient concerned that proposed Medicare changes will affect your ability to get a catheter ablation. (Feel free to use the text in italics below.)

I understand that Medicare is making changes that could affect the ability of atrial fibrillation patients to access a catheter ablation. As an afib patient, I request that Medicare preserve our access to AF catheter ablations.

Then, share your personal experience in one paragraph, such as how a catheter ablation improved your quality of life, how you want to have access to a catheter ablation if you need it, or how not having access to a catheter ablation would hurt you. Please remember that all comments should be constructive, not critical.

2. Comment Category: Select “Individual” from the drop-down box.

3. Enter your Email Address, and if you’d like a confirmation, click the checkbox.

4. For Identity, select the box that says “An Individual.”

5. Check the “I’m not a robot” box.

6. Click Submit Comment.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us using this link: Contact Us

To read the details of the proposed rule change, see Medicare Program; CY 2022 Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B Payment Policies; Medicare Shared Savings Program Requirements; Provider Enrollment Regulation Updates; Provider and Supplier Prepayment and Post-Payment Medical Review Requirements.