Latest Review Date: January 2024

Category: Administrative                                                   

POLICY:

Investigational procedures, treatments, supplies, devices, and/or drugs are considered not medically necessary.

Investigational is defined as any treatment, procedure, facility, equipment, drug, drug usage or supplier that either the plan has not recognized as having scientifically established medical value, or does not meet generally accepted standards of medical practice. Information is reviewed from the published peer-reviewed literature, recognized standards of practice and technology assessments to determine if the service in question meets specific criteria to determine coverage.

The following criteria are used to determine if a service or supply will be considered non-investigational:

• The technology must have final approval from the appropriate government regulatory bodies.
• The scientific evidence must permit conclusions concerning the effect of the technology on health outcomes;
• The technology must improve the net health outcome;
• The technology must be as beneficial as any established alternatives; AND,
• The improvement must be attainable outside the investigational setting.

All five criteria referenced above must be met before a service or device is determined not to be investigational. The FDA status is only one of the criteria which must be met.

The following descriptions may assist in determining if a service should be questioned as possibly investigational or experimental.

• Very few providers perform this procedure.
• The patient may have to travel to another area of the Country to receive this treatment and the condition is not extremely rare.
• The treatment is not performed in the United States.
• There is not a Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code for the service, or the only code assigned is a category III tracking code.
• There is not a specific HCPCS code to report the service or supply.
• The only clinical studies published are not peer-reviewed or are sponsored by the manufacturer or developer.
• The device has to be approved by an Institutional Review Board or is part of a clinical trial.

KEY WORDS:

Investigational, Experimental

APPROVED BY GOVERNING BODIES:

This includes product approvals issued by the Food and Drug Administration, an agency of the United States Department of Health & Human Services.

BENEFIT APPLICATION:

Coverage is subject to member’s specific benefits.  Group-specific policy will supersede this policy when applicable.

ITS: Home Policy provisions apply.

FEP:  Special benefit consideration may apply.  Refer to member’s benefit plan.  

CODING: 

CPT Codes:     Not applicable

REFERENCES:

1. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, the Technology Evaluation Center (TEC): Evidence-based Practice Center. October 2007. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/evidence-based-reports/centers/bcbsatec.html
2. Food and Drug Administration. www.fda.gov.
3. IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2011. Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

POLICY HISTORY:

Medical Policy Group (3), April 2012

Medical Policy Administration Committee, May 2012

Available for comment May 10 – June 25, 2012

Medical Policy Group, March 2015 (3):  2015 Update – no new literature or information to reference; verbiage update to policy statement - no change in intent of policy statement; References updated

Medical Policy Group, August 2017 (3):  2017 Update – no new literature or information to reference; reviewed by consensus; no change in policy statement

Medical Policy Group, October 2019 (7):  2019 Update – no new literature or information to reference; reviewed by consensus; no change in policy statement.

Medical Policy Group, March 2021 (7):  2021 Update –Clarification to Policy Statement: added  “supplies procedures, treatments, supplies, devices, and/or drugs.” Note added, “If a specific procedure, treatment, supply, device, or drug is determined to be investigational and/or not medically necessary in accordance with another Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama medical policy, that medical policy governs.” No new literature or information to reference; reviewed by consensus.

Medical Policy Group, January 2022 (7):  2022 Update – no new literature or information to reference; reviewed by consensus; no change in policy statement.

Medical Policy Group, January 2023 (7):  2023 Update – no new literature or information to reference; reviewed by consensus; no change in policy statement.

Medical Policy Group, January 2024 (7):  2024 Update- Reviewed by consensus; Update to Benefit Application and References. No change in Policy Statement.

This medical policy is not an authorization, certification, explanation of benefits, or a contract. Eligibility and benefits are determined on a case-by-case basis according to the terms of the member’s plan in effect as of the date services are rendered. All medical policies are based on (i) research of current medical literature and (ii) review of common medical practices in the treatment and diagnosis of disease as of the date hereof. Physicians and other providers are solely responsible for all aspects of medical care and treatment, including the type, quality, and levels of care and treatment.

This policy is intended to be used for adjudication of claims (including pre-admission certification, pre-determinations, and pre-procedure review) in Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s administration of plan contracts.

The plan does not approve or deny procedures, services, testing, or equipment for our members. Our decisions concern coverage only. The decision of whether or not to have a certain test, treatment or procedure is one made between the physician and his/her patient. The plan administers benefits based on the member’s contract and corporate medical policies. Physicians should always exercise their best medical judgment in providing the care they feel is most appropriate for their patients. Needed care should not be delayed or refused because of a coverage determination.

As a general rule, benefits are payable under health plans only in cases of medical necessity and only if services or supplies are not investigational, provided the customer group contracts have such coverage.

The following Association Technology Evaluation Criteria must be met for a service/supply to be considered for coverage:

1. The technology must have final approval from the appropriate government regulatory bodies;
2. The scientific evidence must permit conclusions concerning the effect of the technology on health outcomes;
3. The technology must improve the net health outcome;
4.  The technology must be as beneficial as any established alternatives;
5. The improvement must be attainable outside the investigational setting.

Medical Necessity means that health care services (e.g., procedures, treatments, supplies, devices, equipment, facilities or drugs) that a physician, exercising prudent clinical judgment, would provide to a patient for the purpose of preventing, evaluating, diagnosing or treating an illness, injury or disease or its symptoms, and that are:

1. In accordance with generally accepted standards of medical practice; and
2. Clinically appropriate in terms of type, frequency, extent, site and duration and considered effective for the patient’s illness, injury or disease; and
3. Not primarily for the convenience of the patient, physician or other health care provider; and
4. Not more costly than an alternative service or sequence of services at least as likely to produce equivalent therapeutic or diagnostic results as to the diagnosis or treatment of that patient’s illness, injury or disease.