NTAP is an acronym for New Technology Add-On Payment. NTAP recognizes that current payment rates can be a barrier to adopting new technology. NTAP is an additional payment for hospital stays that use new technology determined by CMS to provide substantial clinical improvement and where the current MS-DRG payment would be inadequate.
Former CMS Chief Data Officer Niall Brennan published an article where he explains the CMS ruling awarding Viz NTAP and discusses the process to determine substantial similarity. He writes, “to date no other AI technologies have been approved by CMS" and concludes, “without official word from CMS, hospitals have to choose whether to take a risk"
Viz LVO has been clinically validated in stand-alone centers and hub and spoke networks. The technology is shown to reduce time to treatment. Further, these time savings are associated with improved patient outcomes and increased patient access to care.
In a stand alone center with 500 suspected ischemic strokes per year, an estimated 131 cases will qualify for NTAP, receiving up to $1,040 per patient. Hence, resulting in a total projected impact of $136,240.
In a hub and spoke model with 1,500 suspected ischemic strokes per year, an estimated 394 will qualify for NTAP, receiving up to $1,040 per patient. Hence, resulting in a total projected impact of $409,760.