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Panel lays over bill to require MA and MinnesotaCare coverage of longer ambulatory cardiac patches
Summary
Senate File 1497 was laid over after testimony calling for Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare to cover long-term ambulatory external cardiac monitoring patches worn 48 hours or longer and to set reimbursement at a percentage of Medicare rates upon federal approval.
The committee heard Senate File 1497, a bill that would require Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare to cover ambulatory external cardiac monitoring patches worn 48 hours or longer and to reimburse at least a specified percentage of the Medicare physician fee schedule after federal approval.
Elizabeth Stoll, testifying for Baxter Healthcare, described the product the bill targets: "Ours is called a barty patch, and it basically is like a pen and you stick it onto your chest and you wear it... it lasts anywhere from 48 hours to 15 days." She told senators that a mid-duration monitoring device (longer than a Holter monitor but shorter than implantable loop recorders) helps detect intermittent arrhythmias missed in shorter monitoring windows, that mail-in solutions can reduce transportation burdens for rural patients, and that appropriate reimbursement would allow manufacturers to participate in the Medicaid market.
Committee discussion focused on the product's clinical role and the bill's potential to reduce downstream costs by detecting arrhythmias earlier. No roll-call vote was taken; the committee laid Senate File 1497 over for possible inclusion in broader health omnibus language.
