Food and Drug Administration Categorization of Investigational Device Exemption Devices To Assist the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services With Coverage Decisions; Guidance for Sponsors, Clinical Investigators, Industry, Institutional Review Boards, and Food and Drug Administration Staff; Availability

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing the availability of the guidance entitled ``FDA Categorization of Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) Devices to Assist the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) with Coverage Decisions; Guidance for Sponsors, Clinical Investigators, Industry, Institutional Review Boards, and Food and Drug Administration Staff.'' This guidance modifies the FDA's current policy on categorization of investigational device exemption (IDE) devices, which assists the CMS in determining whether or not an IDE device should be covered (reimbursed) by CMS. On December 2, 2015, FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) and CMS's Coverage and Analysis Group (CAG) executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to streamline and facilitate the efficient categorization of investigational medical devices in order to support CMS's ability to make Medicare coverage (reimbursement) determinations for those devices. This guidance document further explains the framework that FDA intends to follow for such categorization decisions.