Key facts for NCD 270.2
- Benefit category
- Durable Medical Equipment
- Effective date
- 07/01/2002
- Implemented 07/01/2002
- Transmittal
- Transmittal 152
- Versions published
- 1
- Manual chapter
- 270
- NCD Manual (Pub. 100-03)
TL;DR
NCD 270.2 sets Medicare's national policy for noncontact normothermic wound therapy (nnwt) under the benefit category "Durable Medical Equipment", effective 07/01/2002 and implemented 07/01/2002. There is insufficient scientific or clinical evidence to consider this device as reasonable and necessary for the treatment of wounds within the meaning of §1862(a)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act and will not be covered by Medicare. It has been revised once since publication and binds every Medicare Administrative Contractor nationally.
Item or service described
NNWT is a device reported to promote wound healing by warming a wound to a predetermined temperature. The device consists of a noncontact wound cover into which a flexible, battery powered, infrared heating card is inserted.
Indications and limitations of coverage
There is insufficient scientific or clinical evidence to consider this device as reasonable and necessary for the treatment of wounds within the meaning of §1862(a)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act and will not be covered by Medicare.
Text reproduced from the CMS Medicare Coverage Database record for NCD 270.2 version 1. View the original on cms.gov.
Revision history
02/2002 - Added new section to address noncoverage on use of normothermic wound therapy. Effective and implementation dates 07/01/2002. ( TN 152 ) (CR 2027)
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 270.2
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 270.2
What does NCD 270.2 cover?
There is insufficient scientific or clinical evidence to consider this device as reasonable and necessary for the treatment of wounds within the meaning of §1862(a)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act and will not be covered by Medicare. The full indications and limitations are reproduced on this page from the CMS Medicare Coverage Database.
When did NCD 270.2 take effect?
The current version (1) is effective 07/01/2002, implemented 07/01/2002, published in transmittal 152. This is the only published version.
Does a Local Coverage Determination override NCD 270.2?
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.