CMS proposes expanding coverage for blood pressure test

Modern Healthcare: The CMS on Tuesday proposed expanding Medicare coverage for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, a diagnostic test that tracks a patient's blood pressure over a period of days rather than at a moment in time.

The agency said the test may measure blood pressure and diagnose hypertension more accurately. The current national coverage determination for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, issued in 2001, covers the test only for Medicare patients who are not being treated for high blood pressure but are suspected to have "white coat hypertension," meaning their anxiety causes their blood pressure to spike while at the doctor's office.

Read article