Hospital Reimbursement for Carotid Stenting and Endarterectomy

Implications of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services decision to expand indications for carotid artery stenting

OBJECTIVE

On October 11, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded the indications for carotid artery stenting (CAS) to include patients with ≥50% symptomatic or ≥70% asymptomatic carotid stenosis. The aim of this article was to investigate the implications of this decision.

METHODS

The reasons behind the increased coverage for CAS are analyzed and discussed, as well as the various Societies supporting or opposing the expansion of indications for CAS.

RESULTS

The benefits associated with expanding CAS indications include providing an additional therapeutic option to patients and enabling individualization of treatment according to patient-specific characteristics. The drawbacks of expanding CAS indications include a possible bias in decision-making and an increase in inappropriate CAS procedures.

CONCLUSIONS

The purpose of the CMS recommendation to expand indications for CAS is to improve the available therapeutic options for patients. Hopefully this decision will not be misinterpreted and will be used to improve patient options and patient outcomes.

Evaluation of regional variations in length of stay after elective, uncomplicated carotid endarterectomy in North America

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to evaluate factors affecting regional variation in length of stay (LOS) after elective, uncomplicated carotid endarterectomy (CEA).

METHODS

Data were obtained from the Vascular Quality Initiative database and included patients with complete data who received elective CEA without complications between 2012 and 2017 across 18 regions in North America and 294 centers. The main outcome measure was LOS >1 day after surgery (LOS >1 postoperative day [POD]). Using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, multivariable modeling, and mixed-effects general linear modeling, we evaluated whether regional variations in LOS were independent of demographic, clinical, or center-related factors and to what extent these factors accounted for postoperative variation in LOS.

RESULTS

A total of 36,004 patients were included. Mean postprocedure LOS was 1.6 ± 6.6 days. Overall, 24% of patients had an LOS >1 POD. After adjustment for important demographic, clinical, and center-related factors, the region in which a patient was treated independently and significantly affected LOS after elective, uncomplicated CEA. Region and center of treatment accounted for 18% of LOS variation. Demographic, clinical, and surgical factors accounted for another 32% of variation in LOS. Of these factors, postoperative discharge to a facility other than home (odds ratio [OR], 6.3; confidence interval [CI], 5.2-7.6), use of intravenous (IV) vasoactive agents (OR, 3.2; CI, 3-3.4), intraoperative drain placement (OR, 1.4; CI, 1.3-1.55), and female sex (OR, 1.4; CI, 1.3-1.5) were associated with longer LOS. Factors associated with LOS ≤1 POD included preoperative aspirin (OR, 0.88; CI, 0.8-0.96) and statin use (OR, 0.9; CI, 0.83-0.98), high surgeon volume (highest quartile: OR, 0.68; CI, 0.5-0.87), and completion evaluation after CEA (eg, Doppler, ultrasound; OR, 0.87; CI, 0.8-0.95). We also found that use of IV vasoactive medications varied significantly across regions, independent of demographic and clinical factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Significant regional variation in LOS exists after elective, uncomplicated CEA even after controlling for a wide range of important factors, indicating that there remain unmeasured causes of longer LOS in some regions. Even so, modification of certain clinical practices may reduce overall LOS. Regional differences in use of IV vasoactive medications not driven by clinical factors warrant further analysis, given the strong association with longer LOS.