National Coverage Determination (NCD)

Chelation Therapy for Treatment of Atherosclerosis

20.21

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Tracking Information

Publication Number
100-3
Manual Section Number
20.21
Manual Section Title
Chelation Therapy for Treatment of Atherosclerosis
Version Number
1
Effective Date of this Version
This is a longstanding national coverage determination. The effective date of this version has not been posted.

Description Information

Benefit Category
Incident to a physician's professional Service
Physicians' Services


Please Note: This may not be an exhaustive list of all applicable Medicare benefit categories for this item or service.

Item/Service Description

Chelation therapy is the application of chelation techniques for the therapeutic or preventive effects of removing unwanted metal ions from the body.

Indications and Limitations of Coverage

The application of chelation therapy using ethylenediamine-tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) for the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis is controversial. There is no widely accepted rationale to explain the beneficial effects attributed to this therapy. Its safety is questioned and its clinical effectiveness has never been established by well designed, controlled clinical trials. It is not widely accepted and practiced by American physicians. EDTA chelation therapy for atherosclerosis is considered experimental. For these reasons, EDTA chelation therapy for the treatment or prevention of atherosclerosis is not covered Some practitioners refer to this therapy as chemoendarterectomy and may also show a diagnosis other than atherosclerosis, such as arteriosclerosis or calcinosis. Claims employing such variant terms should also be denied under this section.

Cross Reference
§20.22

Additional Information

Other Versions
Title Version Effective Between
Chelation Therapy for Treatment of Atherosclerosis 1 01/01/1966 - N/A You are here