Medicare Sets Physician Payment Rate for Percutaneous Kidney Cr...( New Clinical CPT Code Created for M...),Health

New Clinical CPT Code Created for Minimally Invasive Procedure to Treat

Kidney Tumors

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Endocare, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENDO), an innovative medical device company focused on the development of minimally invasive technologies for tissue and tumor ablation, announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have accepted the recommendation received from the American Medical Association's (AMA) Specialty Society Relative Value Update Committee (RUC) and created a clinical reimbursement code and rate for percutaneous renal cryoablation. The new rate will go into effect January 1, 2008.

The new code is CPT 50593 which will be paid an adjusted average in the $440 range and is the first time there is a specific code and reimbursement rate for this procedure. Percutaneous renal cryoablation is a minimally invasive procedure that allows physicians to destroy small tumors in the kidney by inserting a probe directly through the skin and freezing the cancerous tissue.

Endocare Chairman, CEO and President Craig T. Davenport said: "This represents a significant milestone for Endocare and for cryoablation as a cancer therapy. Recent data showing the safety and effectiveness of renal cryoablation have made a positive impression on the American Medical Association Committee that establishes clinical CPT codes. The new renal cryoablation reimbursement rate, paid at a higher rate than other percutaneous ablation modalities, provides patients and their physicians with a powerful new option when choosing a therapy to treat a dangerous disease."

About Endocare

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