CMS Grants Transitional Pass-Through (TPT) Payment for Ambu’s aScope 5 Broncho HD Single-Use Bronchoscope

Ambu’s fifth-generation single-use bronchoscope becomes the first and only bronchoscope to be granted incremental payment by CMS, facilitating Medicare beneficiary access to benefits of new and innovative medical technologies and therapeutics.

COLUMBIA, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ambu Inc. announced today that the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has granted the company’s aScope 5 Broncho HD a transitional pass-through (TPT) payment. TPT status enables incremental reimbursement payments for outpatient procedures performed with Ambu’s high-performance single-use bronchoscope. It is effective Jan. 1, 2024 and is expected to remain in effect for 24-36 months.

The aScope 5 Broncho HD series is Ambu’s latest generation of single-use bronchoscope, joining a single-use portfolio now including 10 different bronchoscopy models designed to meet patient care needs in interventional pulmonology, critical care medicine, and anesthesia and airway management. TPT was granted to the aScope 5 Broncho HD series because it fit CMS criteria, which included demonstrating a substantial clinical improvement over existing single-use and reusable bronchoscopy technology.

“When Ambu launched the aScope 5 series in late 2022, our intent was to deliver on the request of healthcare providers for a superior single-use bronchoscope that could finally compare with advanced reusable devices,” said Steven Block, President of Ambu North America. “We’re appreciative of CMS recognizing this opportunity for expanding access to innovation for Medicare patients, as bronchoscopy is a key technology for the management of lower airway diseases — from lung cancer diagnosis to lung valve placements to post-lung transplant performance. Ambu is committed to offering providers and patients innovations that save lives and improves patient care.”

The decision by CMS to award transitional pass-through payment to Ambu was based on its application, product analysis, public commentary, and a review of the peer-reviewed research on single-use bronchoscopy and other single-use endoscopes that have already established TPT status. Additional details and the CY2024 OOPS Final Rule can be found here (page 190).

“TPT for single-use endoscopy has historically been about expanded access to safe, sterile single-use devices that have different cost structures than reusables,” said Christina Cool, Senior Director, Health Economics, Outcomes Research, and Market Access at Ambu USA. “In this case, the granting of TPT was also about the advanced performance currently unique to aScope 5 Broncho HD, which was necessary to meet the newness and significant clinical improvement criteria. We’re thrilled as this is a giant step in providing physicians with a superior technology to treat patients.”

About aScope 5 Broncho HD

Ambu’s aScope 5 Broncho HD is a best-in-class single-use bronchoscopy system with high-performance functionality and imaging, combined with single-use’s distinct productivity and safety advantages. The aScope 5 Broncho HD is designed to perform the wide array of diagnostic, interventional, and therapeutic procedures crucial for pulmonology disease management, including the use of energy devices, endotherapy tools, and the BronchoSampler.

It is compatible with both the full-HD Ambu® aBox™ 2 display designed for OR integration, and the full-HD aView 2 Advance 2^nd Generation portable display additional points of care availability. Both displays have EMR/EHR connectivity built-in thought the use of bi-directional modality PACS/DICOM worklists — enabling the capturing and sending of images and video.

Click here to learn more about aScope 5 Broncho HD.

Innovations that make a difference

Ever since 1937, Ambu has been rethinking medical solutions to save lives and improve patient care. Millions of patients and healthcare professionals worldwide depend on the efficiency, safety and performance of our single-use endoscopy, anesthesia, and patient monitoring solutions.

In the past, we provided a way to maintain or restore breathing in any environment with the world’s first self-inflating resuscitator, the Ambu® Bag™, which is still in use today. More recently, we responded to a need for an endoscopy solution that is always available. The result? Ambu® aScope™, the world’s first sterile, single-use flexible endoscope.

Today, we continue to collaborate with leading medical experts to deliver innovations that make a real difference to healthcare professionals and their patients.

At our headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, and around the world in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific, 4,500+ team members keep Ambu moving forward.

Ambu – Forever Forward

Contacts

North America media
Jeff Derr, Director of Marketing Communications, jder@ambu.com, +1 443 367 4593

Ambu Inc., 6721 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, Maryland, 21045, United States, www.ambuusa.com

European media
Tine Bjørn Schmidt, Head of Corporate Communications, tisc@ambu.com, +45 2264 0697

Ambu A/S, Baltorpbakken 13, 2750 Ballerup, Denmark, Tel. +45 7225 2000, CVR no.: 63 64 49 19, www.ambu.com