Medical Policy Update: Home Traction Devices for the Treatment of Spinal Disorders and Pain

Effective December 26, 2019, Horizon BCBSNJ will change the way we consider claims for certain home traction devices provided to Horizon BCBSNJ Medicare Advantage (MA) plan members.

Access our Medical Policy Manual to review this medical policy content.¹

Claims submitted for services provided on and after December 26, 2019 to patients enrolled in Horizon BCBSNJ Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will be processed as follows.

• Regardless of the submitted diagnosis code(s), the services represented by HCPCS code E0856 will be denied as not reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury or to improve the functioning of a malformed body member, based on a national coverage determination or local coverage determination.

Unless Horizon BCBSNJ gives written notice that all or part of the above changes have been canceled or postponed, the changes will be applied to claims for dates of service on and after December 26, 2019.

¹ The content of Horizon BCBSNJ medical policies that apply to Horizon BCBSNJMA plans may include reference to pertinent National Coverage Determinations (NCDs) and/or Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs). We follow Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines, NCDs and/or LCDs in our processing of claims for services provided to our MA members. For those services where no LCD or NCD exists, claims for MA members will be processed based on our policy guidelines.