Health & Fitness
Health and Fitness
Health and Fitness
Wed, February 25, 2009
Tue, February 24, 2009 Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Initiates Coverage for Microvolt T-Wave Alternans Testing
TEWKSBURY, Mass.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Cambridge Heart, Inc. (OTCBB-CAMH), today announced that Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, the second largest private insurer in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, has initiated reimbursement for the Microvolt T-Wave Alternans (MTWA) test. This non-invasive test identifies individuals at risk for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), the leading cause of death in the United States.
"We believe that MTWA testing will be a valuable diagnostic tool helping physicians and their patients make better informed choices about appropriate treatments," said Judith Frampton, RN, Harvard Pilgrim's Medical Management Vice President.
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care joins Medicare, several Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans, Aetna, Cigna and Humana in covering the test. The decision by Harvard Pilgrim to cover the test is based on a comprehensive review of the clinical literature on MTWA. The test is available to all Harvard Pilgrim Health Care subscribers who are considered by their doctors to be candidates for an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).
The MTWA test, which measures a subtle heart rhythm abnormality, is a proven marker of SCA risk in patients with cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, tachyarrhythmia or those who have had a heart attack (myocardial infarction). The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) class IIa guidelines indicate that MTWA testing can improve the diagnosis for such patients at risk of SCA.
"Harvard Pilgrim's decision to reimburse this predictive test is indicative of the plan's commitment to ensuring the well-being of their members by better assessing those patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest," said Ali Haghighi-Mood, Cambridge Heart's CEO.
About Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is a not-for-profit health plan that provides a variety of insurance plan options and self-funding arrangements to more than one million members in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Harvard Pilgrim provides innovative approaches to health improvement and disease management, unique online tools that speed and simplify key transactions for employers and providers and personalized health support at [ www.harvardpilgrim.org ].
About Cambridge Heart, Inc.
Cambridge Heart develops and commercializes non-invasive diagnostic tests for cardiac disease, with a focus on identifying those at risk for sudden cardiac arrest ("SCA"). The company's products incorporate proprietary Microvolt T-Wave Alternans measurement technologies, including the patented Analytic Spectral Method® and ultrasensitive disposable electrode sensors. Only The Analytic Spectral Method® is reimbursed by Medicare under its National Coverage Policy.
Cambridge Heart, founded in 1990, is based in Tewksbury, MA. It is traded on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) under the symbol CAMH.
[ http://www.cambridgeheart.com ].
Statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.In some cases, we use words such as "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "estimates", "could", and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements.Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements.Factors that may cause or contribute to such differences include failure to achieve broad market acceptance of the Company's MTWA technology, failure of our sales and marketing organization to market our products effectively, inability to hire and retain qualified clinical applications specialists in the Company's target markets, failure to obtain or maintain adequate levels of third-party reimbursement for use of the Company's MTWA test, customer delays in making final buying decisions, decreased demand for the Company's products, failure to obtain funding necessary to develop or enhance our technology, adverse results in future clinical studies of our technology, failure to obtain or maintain patent protection for our technology and other factors identified in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K/A under "Risk Factors", which is on file with the SEC and available at [ www.EDGAR.com ].In addition, any forward-looking statements represent our estimates only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date.While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so except as may be legally necessary, even if our estimates should change.
