Some HMOs to Cover Cost of Heart Device

Some of the largest U.S. health insurers said they would pay for an expensive pacemaker-like device despite Medicare’s refusal to cover it for all the patients who might benefit from it.

The $25,000 stopwatch-sized device, the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, can restart a stopped heart or shock a failing heart back into rhythm.

Only the sickest one-third of patients who device makers say can benefit from defibrillators won coverage last week from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the regulatory body that sets reimbursement guidelines. The twin programs provide medical coverage for the elderly and the poor.

But two of the biggest U.S. health maintenance organizations, Cigna Corp. and Aetna Inc., said that the Medicare decision would not affect their coverage and that they would provide the device for any members who need it.