The following policies were recently reviewed for annual update. The full texts of these policies are available in the Provider section of bcbsri.com:

• Artificial Intervertebral Disc Insertion Lumbar Spine
• Bariatric Surgery
• Corneal Collagen Cross-Linking
• Handheld Radiofrequency Spectroscopy for Intraoperative Assessment of Surgical Margins during Breast-Conserving Surgery
• Home Prothrombin Time Monitoring 
• Manipulation Under Anesthesia
• Microprocessor-Controlled Prostheses for the Lower Limb
• Optical Coherence Tomography of the Anterior Eye Segment
• Patient Controlled End of Range Motion Stretching Devices
• Prior Authorization via Web Based Tool for Durable Medical Equipment (DME) 

(Note: The list of codes that require prior authorization are now in an attached table.)

• Transtympanic Micropressure Applications as a Treatment of Meniere’s Disease
• Vertebral Axial Decompression

We also post monthly drafts of medical policies being created or reassessed for your review. As a reminder, you can provide comments on draft policies for up to 30 days. Draft policies are located on the Provider homepage, under the Medical Policies section, under the “Draft Medical Policies" drop-down.