Key facts for NCD 160.19
- Benefit category
- Prosthetic Devices
- Effective date
- This is a longstanding national coverage determination. The effective date of this version has not been posted.
- Transmittal
- n/a
- Versions published
- 1
- Manual chapter
- 160
- NCD Manual (Pub. 100-03)
TL;DR
NCD 160.19 sets Medicare's national policy for phrenic nerve stimulator under the benefit category "Prosthetic Devices", effective This is a longstanding national coverage determination. The effective date of this version has not been posted.. The implantation of a phrenic nerve stimulator is covered for selected patients with partial or complete respiratory insufficiency. It has been revised once since publication and binds every Medicare Administrative Contractor nationally.
Item or service described
The phrenic nerve stimulator provides electrical stimulation of the patient's phrenic nerve to contract the diaphragm rhythmically and produce breathing in patients who have hypoventilation (a state in which an abnormally low amount of air enters the lungs). The device has been used successfully to treat hypoventilation caused by a variety of conditions, including respiratory paralysis resulting from lesions of the brain stem and cervical spinal cord and chronic pulmonary disease with ventilatory insufficiency. The phrenic nerve stimulator is intended to be an alternative to management of patients with respiratory insufficiency who are dependent upon the usual therapy of intermittent or permanent use of a mechanical ventilator as well as maintenance of a permanent tracheotomy stoma.
However, an implanted phrenic nerve stimulator can be effective only if the patient has an intact phrenic nerve and diaphragm. Moreover, nerve injury may occur during the surgical procedure and if sufficient injury is incurred, the device will not prove useful to the patient. Consequently, it is possible for such a device to be indicated for a patient but, due to injury sustained during implant, fail to assist the patient, resulting in a return to the use of mechanical ventilation.
Indications and limitations of coverage
The implantation of a phrenic nerve stimulator is covered for selected patients with partial or complete respiratory insufficiency.
Text reproduced from the CMS Medicare Coverage Database record for NCD 160.19 version 1. View the original on cms.gov.
How this NCD shows up on remittances
A service denied under a National Coverage Determination returns CARC 50 (not deemed medically necessary) with remark N386 (decision based on an NCD); a denial citing a local policy instead carries N115. Because NCDs bind nationally, the appeal path is documentation that the patient meets the indications above, not a contractor-policy argument.
How QuickIntell applies NCD 160.19
QuickAuth checks the ordered service and diagnosis against NCD and LCD criteria before the encounter, QuickCode validates the diagnosis pairing on the claim, and QuickRCM routes CARC 50 denials with the policy text and the covered-code list attached so the appeal starts with evidence.
Frequently asked questions — NCD 160.19
What does NCD 160.19 cover?
The implantation of a phrenic nerve stimulator is covered for selected patients with partial or complete respiratory insufficiency. The full indications and limitations are reproduced on this page from the CMS Medicare Coverage Database.
When did NCD 160.19 take effect?
The current version (1) is effective This is a longstanding national coverage determination. The effective date of this version has not been posted.. This is the only published version.
Does a Local Coverage Determination override NCD 160.19?
No. A National Coverage Determination binds all Medicare Administrative Contractors; an LCD can only address services or circumstances the NCD leaves open. Claims denied under this NCD typically return CARC 50 with remark N386 (NCD) rather than N115 (LCD).
Sources
Every figure on this page is taken from the CMS publications below, as released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Projection built 2026-10-02. Verify against the primary file before billing or contracting decisions.
- Medicare Coverage Database NCDs via the CMS Coverage APIVersion API snapshot 2026-09-27 · effective 2026-09-20 · file national-coverage-ncd.jsonSHA-256 a90fadfd264b9ef4…
Disclaimer
This page reproduces the CMS National Coverage Determination text and, for laboratory NCDs, the CMS ICD-10 edit lists, as an operational reference. Coverage decisions depend on the full policy, the claim and the contractor; nothing here is legal, clinical or billing advice. CPT codes are shown as numbers only; CPT descriptors are copyright AMA.