WellPoint’s Unicare subsidiary has revised its coverage policy to cover Total Ankle Replacement (TAR) systems

Small Bone Innovations, Inc. (SBi), reported that UniCare, a subsidiary of WellPoint Health Networks, Inc, the nation's leading commercial health care insurer with over 30 million members, has revised its coverage policy to cover Total Ankle Replacement (TAR) systems that are FDA-approved and cleared.

UniCare members access WellPoint's nationwide network of primary care doctors and treatment facilities serving 13 million members in 37 states. UniCare's positive decision on TAR coverage further increases the number of individuals in commercial plans with access to TAR by 7%, according to SBi's reimbursement consultant, Musculoskeletal Clinical Regulatory Advisers, LLC (MCRA). This increase follows the positive decision by Aetna and CIGNA announced last month, and raises the total number of individuals in commercial plans with access to TAR by 24%. 

 

Charles Schneider, Vice President of Health Economics, Reimbursement and Public Policy at MCRA, said: "The majority of the largest U.S. commercial carriers, such as Aetna, CIGNA and UniCare, have now modified or revised their coverage policies to support patient access to TAR procedures having determined that solutions such as the STAR ankle are safe, effective and offer a clinically proven treatment option for patients suffering from end-stage ankle arthritis."

See more information about the Small Bone Innovations: Star Ankle as well as other Total Ankle Replacement Implant options on the TAR Ankle Joint Implant Page.