Chairman of Government and Oversight Reform, Darrell Issa, has shown phenomenal leadership on the issue of TENS coverage. The Chairman points out in his letter that this is an UNPRECEDENTED move by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to revoke long-standing coverage of a treatment while further study is done.
TENS has proven, for more than 30 years, to be an effective alternative to addictive and expensive pain medications and this hasty action taken by CMS puts the nations seniors at risk! Chronic low back pain (CLBP), as the Chairman points out in his letter, is one of the most common reoccurring problems among Medicare patients and CMS appears to be prepared to leave seniors “up the creek without a paddle” while they experiment in a lab. LETS TELL THE GOVERNMENT TO STOP EXPERIMENTING WITH SENIORS LIVES!
We are a small company, but last year, over 18,000 patietns ordered electrodes for their tens units. That shows that patients are using the devices. CMS has the data to prove that patients are utilizing TENS, but they have chosen to ignore their own data, are are relying on a study of MS patients that states that TENS is ineffective. We have been proving TENS since 1995 hae yet to ever issue a TENS unit to an MS patient.
You are right. They should stop experimenting with seniors lives. we aren’t subjects for study. We are people who experience really severe pain every single day of our lives.
Exactly! CMS needs to stay out of the doctors office and allow physicians to treat chronic low back pain with TENS if they determine that is what is best for the patient!