Medicare Plan Boosts Heart Pump Maker

Proposed Medicare rules could boost reimbursement for Thoratec Corp.’s heart pumps used on a permanent basis by end-stage heart-failure patients as much as 30%, the firm said Tuesday, sending its shares sharply higher.

Thoratec said the proposed rules would put reimbursement for the company’s heart pumps at about $125,000 per procedure, compared with about $96,000 now, when used as a permanent treatment.

The Pleasanton, Calif.-based company said some medical centers would qualify for much more generous reimbursement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that regulates the federal insurance program for the poor and elderly.

The changes affect any ventricular-assist device used to prolong life in heart-failure patients too sick to receive a heart transplant. The devices boost the heart’s main pumping chamber, increasing blood flow to the rest of the body.

The changes would not affect coverage of the devices when used as a temporary treatment until a patient can receive a heart transplant.

Thoratec said the proposed ruling was subject to a 60-day public comment period. The final rule is due Aug. 1 and would take effect Oct. 1.

The company said it believed that most of the patients who received its heart assist devices for permanent use would be enrolled in Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly.

Shares of Thoratec rose $2, or 15%, to $14.99 on Tuesday on Nasdaq.