The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule on Friday (October 31) announcing that it will maintain Medicare coverage for auditory osseointegrated implants (AOIs), reversing its earlier proposal to have AOIs classified as hearing aids thereby eliminating coverage for them. Importantly, CMS noted:
“This rule codifies the Medicare policy guidance when a device is not subject to the hearing aid exclusion. The rule finalizes that certain auditory implants, including cochlear implants, brain stem implants, and osseointegrated implants, do not meet the definition of hearing aids that are excluded from coverage.”