Key facts for NCD 30.2
- Benefit category
- Physicians' Services
- 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
- 30
- NCD Manual (Pub. 100-03)
TL;DR
NCD 30.2 sets Medicare's national policy for thermogenic therapy under the benefit category "Physicians' Services", effective This is a longstanding national coverage determination. The effective date of this version has not been posted.. Regardless of the medium by which the fever is induced, this modality is not scientifically accepted for the treatment of any specific disease. Since the advent of potent antibiotics, the procedure has for all practical purposes been replaced as a mode of… It has been revised once since publication and binds every Medicare Administrative Contractor nationally.
Item or service described
Thermogenic therapy which is the production of artificial fever has been in use since 1919 in the treatment of certain types of resistant infectious diseases, rheumatoid arthritis and Sydenham's chorea.
Indications and limitations of coverage
Regardless of the medium by which the fever is induced, this modality is not scientifically accepted for the treatment of any specific disease. Since the advent of potent antibiotics, the procedure has for all practical purposes been replaced as a mode of treatment. Therefore, thermogenic therapy is not considered reasonable and necessary for the treatment of an illness or injury as required by section 1862(a)(1) of the Act. (Of course, where other covered services are needed and it would be reasonable and necessary that they be furnished on an inpatient hospital basis, payment would not be excluded for the inpatient stay, notwithstanding the fact that reimbursement may not be made for thermogenic therapy furnished during the hospital stay.)
Text reproduced from the CMS Medicare Coverage Database record for NCD 30.2 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 30.2
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 30.2
What does NCD 30.2 cover?
Regardless of the medium by which the fever is induced, this modality is not scientifically accepted for the treatment of any specific disease. Since the advent of potent antibiotics, the procedure has for all practical purposes been replaced as a mode of treatment. Therefore, thermogenic therapy is not considered reasonable and necessary for the treatment of an illness or injury as required by section 1862(a)(1)… The full indications and limitations are reproduced on this page from the CMS Medicare Coverage Database.
When did NCD 30.2 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 30.2?
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.