Inspire Medical Systems – creator of a pacemaker-like system to treat obstructive sleep apnea – said today that the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s Evidence Street issued a positive assessment of Inspire therapy to its members.
BCBSA is a national federation of 36 Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies.
The report from BCBSA, according to Inspire (Maple Grove, Minn.), found sufficient evidence that an Inspire-type therapy provided meaningful improvement in the net health outcome for sleep apnea patients falling under certain criteria: over 22 years old (as well as 10- to 21-year-olds with Down’s syndrome), moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, CPAP failure or inability to tolerate CPAP, body mass index equal or less than ≤ 35 kg/m2 in adults, and a favorable pattern of palatal collapse.
