Blues Plans Will Expand LITT Coverage in 2021

Beginning Jan. 1, the Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) — an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association operating Blue Cross and Blue Shield^® plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas — will cover MRI-guided Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT) to treat brain tumor, epilepsy and radiation necrosis. The criteria are similar to a policy implemented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina in July 2020. In addition to advocating for coverage of LITT, the AANS and the CNS applied for a new Category I CPT® code for the procedure, which was approved by the AMA’s CPT Editorial Panel in October and will be included in the 2022 CPT book.

Click here for a copy of the new HCSC policy.