{"entity":{"id":"medicare-ncd-220-6-19","kind":"term","name":"Medicare NCD 220.6.19: NaF-18 PET for bone metastases","aka":["NCD 220.6.19","Positron Emission Tomography (NaF-18) to Identify Bone Metastasis of Cancer","Medicare sodium fluoride PET coverage"],"tldr":"Medicare no longer pays nationally for sodium fluoride (NaF-18) PET scans to look for cancer in the bones; local contractors may cover other PET tracers used as their FDA labels allow.","summary":"United States, Medicare National Coverage Determination 220.6.19, version 2 (listed effective date 15 December 2021, implemented 17 January 2022). The text explains that \"the confirmatory analyses were not published during the 24-month time period\", so \"effective December 15, 2017, CMS determines that there are no nationally covered indications for PET NaF-18\" and that NaF-18 PET is nationally non-covered. Other PET radiopharmaceuticals for cancer can be covered at local contractors' discretion when used according to their FDA-approved indications. The NCD says it was last reviewed in December 2017.","asOf":"2026-11-04","links":[{"label":"CMS Medicare Coverage Database: the NCD","url":"https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/view/ncd.aspx?ncdid=336&ncdver=2"},{"label":"CMS Coverage API: the NCD text as data","url":"https://api.coverage.cms.gov/v1/data/ncd?ncdid=336&ncdver=2"}],"tags":["us"],"related":["medicare-ncd-220-6-17"],"cancers":[],"sections":[],"technologies":["pet-ct"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":["cms"],"pathways":[],"terms":["bone-metastases","medicare-ced"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":["The NCD's effective-date field reads 15 December 2021 while its text dates the non-coverage decision to 15 December 2017; both are stated as the API returned them.","The 24-month period refers to the earlier coverage with evidence development arrangement under which NaF-18 PET was paid for; the text read does not restate its terms."],"category":"Regulation & policy"},"route":"/terms/medicare-ncd-220-6-19/","neighbours":{"term":[{"id":"bone-metastases","kind":"term","name":"Bone metastases and skeletal-related events","route":"/terms/bone-metastases/"},{"id":"medicare-ced","kind":"term","name":"Medicare coverage with evidence development","route":"/terms/medicare-ced/"},{"id":"medicare-ncd-220-6-17","kind":"term","name":"Medicare NCD 220.6.17: FDG PET for cancer","route":"/terms/medicare-ncd-220-6-17/"}],"technology":[{"id":"pet-ct","kind":"technology","name":"PET/CT","route":"/technologies/pet-ct/"}],"institution":[{"id":"cms","kind":"institution","name":"Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)","route":"/institutions/cms/"}]}}