In January 2024, Humana issued Medicare Advantage policy HUM-1140-000 [PDF], excluding from coverage peripheral nerve stimulators (PNS) for treating chronic pain. This policy contradicts Medicare’s longstanding practice of covering and paying for the reasonable and necessary use of PNS for chronic pain management and appears inconsistent with the Noridian Local Coverage Decision and the CMS National Coverage Decision (NCD 160.7). Working with the Multi-Society Pain Workgroup, NANS issued a statement [PDF] on behalf of 12 medical societies to Humana and CMS administrators objecting to the policy.
