Aetna Revises Policy for Endovascular Repair of Aortic Aneurysms

Aetna recently reviewed and revised its policy, number 0651, Endovascular Repair of Aortic Aneurysms for medical necessity. The policy states:

  • Endovascular repair of infra-renal abdominal aortic or aorto-iliac aneurysms with an FDA-approved fenestrated, branched or nonfenestrated endovascular stent graft medically necessary.
  • Endovascular repair of descending thoracic aortic aneurysms with an FDA-approved endoprosthesis medically necessary.
  • Of interest is the GORE® TAG® Thoracic Endoprosthesis System, which was given pre-market approval from the FDA for repair of descending thoracic aortic aneurysms based on specific criteria. This criteria, as well as the results of Gore’s test study of the TAG device can be found here.