Oppose LCDs and open up access to all MIGS options for glaucoma patients

For the support to glaucoma patients

I was displaced from my new job because of this -was really excited to work for New World Medical-now looking for a job!!:(

Glaucoma is a chronic and progressive disease, which causes permanent vision loss and ultimately trends toward complete blindness. Traditional glaucoma surgeries carry high morbidity, and patients can have permanent damage to the vision from complications, even in the setting of perfect surgery. There is a large body of data showing that lowering IOP prevents vision loss and that earlier intervention improves longterm outcomes. Access to a wide variety of surgical options helps us tailor treatment to the specific patient, in a way that improves safety and prevents permanent vision loss and blindness.

Please consider this!

People don't choose to have glaucoma , sadly it finds them. They deserve to have access to all treatments that are available for managing the condition. That includes MIGS as well.

This LCD is detrimental, if not outright criminal, to not allow long proven surgical therapies (MIGS) for glaucoma patients. Do NOT pass this restriction. I oppose LCDs and want open access to ALL MIGS options for glaucoma patients. Charles Pell

Full coverage needs to be reinstated. Plenty of evidence out there that proves the benefits and avoids much more invasive surgery. Something as important as peoples vision should not be messed with. New and improved techniques should be developed not shut down.

This change to reimbursement would be absolutely detrimental for all people living with Glaucoma. MIGS has widespread support within the ophthalmology community. Doctors know what is best for their patients, leave the decision making to them and focus on ensuring that all patients have equal access to vision saving treatments like canaloplasty. This is not a new treatment with little evidence, it is a well regarded procedure that has been used in hundreds of thousands of operations. I can’t see any reason for it suddenly becoming investigational, other than the fact that Medicare is trying to spend less money at the expense of patients’ quality of life.

This procedure saved my partners eye sight . It is crucial to support it

This needs to be resolved

This is sight saving surgery that has been taken from our most unfortunate. This can't continue, please help

Patients and surgeons must have these options to manage a disease that slowly kills vision. Without these options, patient care will suffer.

I am completely shocked by the ridiculous decision of the medicare contractors to go ahead and finalise the flawed MIGS LCD which significantly restricts the ability for doctors to maximise outcomes for their patients. What is the point of even training doctors if they are not provided the flexibility to determine what is best for their patients? Do we not trust the intuition and expertise of these trained professionals anymore? Completely ridiculous policy proposal. Is Medicare seriously stooping so low as to condemn people to blindness just so they can save a few bucks? There is so much evidence supporting MIGS procedures like canaloplasty which the Medicare contractors either refused to acknowledge entirely or dismissed on the basis of some arbitrary measure of study quality. Not to mention the Medicare contractors never even gave companies and professionals a chance to argue against the LCD on the basis of this new quality criteria. The LCD needs to at least be paused so that the industry can respond to this significant change to the LCD. Besides that though, this LCD is actually very offensive to all the rigorously trained ophthalmologists. It implies that we should not trust doctors to know what is best for their patients. It implies that their experience of high success with MIGS is irrelevant. There is a very clear reason why doctors are rapidly adopting MIGS procedures, and that is because this treatment works and is far superior to traditional options. But sure, tell doctors what to do because clearly (based on this ridiculous LCD) they have no idea what they are doing. I hope there are still people within these Medicare contractor organisations as well as the CMS who have the sense to realise how absurd and ridiculous this policy proposal is. I hope they can consider the real impact of this on so many people. All those involved in this decision should feel both ashamed and guilty, for they will be directly responsible for people losing vision

Glaucoma patients deserve to have access to the best treatments for this terrible disease.

I ask you to please support glaucoma patients. This is a terrible, life changing disease. Our lives are often filled with anguish. We need our doctors to have all the surgeries possible available for us to maintain our vision until there can be a breakthrough for a cure. Glaucoma deserves the same innovative support as other chronic diseases. Thank you for remembering us and standing up for preserving vision.

Please reconsider payment for these important procedures for Glaucoma patients who need them .

Two MIGs surgeries saved my eyesight w/no complications. Please do not impose unnecessary restrictions on patient access to these vision-saving procedures.

Please continue to allow access to varying MIGS procedures for glaucoma and allow the physicians to choose what is best for the patient, not the insurance or government!!

This would be devastating for our patients!

Doctors are going to do what works!!! Don’t make decisions out of your wheelhouse!