Thrombectomy in Stroke: Reimbursable or Not

Your doctor uses this to save your life and the insurance company denies reimbursement. You had better start screaming at the insurance companies, its probably cheaper for them to have you die. At least your doctor would get paid if you die, remember there is no pay for results.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Strokes/38610?
Several recent trials have shown the effectiveness of thrombectomy devices in the setting of ischemic stroke, but payment for use of the devices is not a guaranteed thing, according to an editorial in the journal Stroke.
"Insurance companies in the U.S. are currently considering whether the data from [the IMS III and SYNTHESIS trials] justify withdrawal of reimbursement for thrombectomy devices for all ischemic stroke patients, including those patients who arrive within the tPA treatment window but who are ineligible for IV tPA," wrote Joseph P. Broderick, MD, and Thomas A. Tomsick, MD, on behalf of the Interventional Management of Stroke (IMS) III executive committee.
Those trials did not show a benefit for endovascular therapy beyond what could be achieved with tPA.
But since the IMS III trial, many new-generation thrombectomy devices have been tested, albeit in smaller studies, showing good results.
The editorialists argue that if patients arrive within the 4.5 hour window when IV tPA is beneficial, but have contraindications for IV therapy, the use of thrombectomy devices for these patients should be reimbursed.