MDT (US)


September 11, 2026

EW: Asymptomatic Wins & Moderate AS Misses

By John Leppard

CMS’s finalized national coverage determination (NCD) last night should support an incremental ~120 bps in growth for EW’s TAVR franchise in 2027, with the agency largely codifying the criteria initially outlined in its June proposal….

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September 2, 2026

EW: TAVR NCD Expectations & Implications

By John Leppard

With CMS set to release its finalized update to the TAVR NCD by Sept. 13 [likely posted after the close here], we largely expect it to maintain the core elements of the original proposal. More…

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June 11, 2026

[EW, MDT, ABT] TAVR: Incremental Gains From Expected Coverage

By John Leppard

In advance of the CMS draft coverage decision for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) due June 15 (final Sept. 15), we expect policy changes that – while positive – may be more incremental in their…

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April 23, 2026

RAPID Device Coverage: Rebrand or Brand New?

By John Leppard

The joint CMS / FDA press release this morning outlining the Regulatory Alignment for Predictable and Immediate Device (RAPID) coverage pathway for breakthrough medical devices strikes us more as a rebranding of the existing transitional…

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February 25, 2026

[EW, MDT, ABT] TAVR: Incremental Gains From Expected Coverage

By John Leppard

In advance of the CMS draft coverage decision for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) due June 15 (final Sept. 15), we expect policy changes that – while positive – may be more incremental in their…

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December 16, 2025

EW, ABT, MDT: TAVR Coverage Coming

By John Leppard

Coming roughly in line with our timing expectations outlined in early June (admittedly, a quarter or so early), we would expect CMS’s reopening of its transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) coverage policy to provide greater…

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November 29, 2025

DXCM, TNDM, BBNX, RMD, COLOB.DC, CTEC.LN: Competitive Bidding Comes for CGM, Pumps, & More

By John Leppard

With CMS finalizing [Fact Sheet, Final Rule] its intention to include continuous glucose monitors (CGM) [DXCM, ABT], insulin pumps [TNDM, BBNX], and urological / ostomy supplies [COLOB.DC, CTEC.LN] in the next round of the Competitive…

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October 29, 2025

[MDT, Otsuka] Renal Denervation: Broad Coverage, With New Guardrails

By John Leppard

We view CMS’s final coverage policy for renal denervation (RDN) [Medtronic (MDT), Otsuka (4578.JT)] as largely consistent with the initial proposal, but with some modest new guardrails that may incrementally slow utilization and delay /…

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October 9, 2025

CGMs & Insulin Pumps: Competitive Bidding Lookahead

By John Leppard

Despite the nearly ubiquitous opposition of stakeholders, we think CMS will likely finalize its intention to include continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) [DXCM, ABT] in the next round of the Competitive Bidding Program (CBP), along with…

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July 16, 2025

Misses For LNTH, LIVN, PRCT, Wins for BSX / MDT

By John Leppard

CMS’s CY26 hospital outpatient proposal last night hews closely to our expectations going in: INSP: With the company targeting use of LIVN’s cranial nerve code for its Inspire V device, payment group reassignment likely would…

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