Retirement of LCDs and local coverage articles

The Medicare Program Integrity Manual (PIM), CMS Publication 100-08, Chapter 13 directs that MACs have discretion to retire LCDs and articles at any time.

First Coast may consider retiring LCDs and articles for the following reasons:

• There is a national policy, or a national policy is developed that addresses the services or items in the LCD.
• The LCD or article contains outdated technology, or the service or item is considered standard of care.
• It is determined that the LCD or article is no longer being used as an educational tool.
• Utilization of the service or item addressed by the LCD or article is very low.

When First Coast determines that an LCD or article should be retired, the retired LCD or article will be published to the Medicare Coverage Database and the First Coast website. The retirement will also be communicated via eNews, which is sent to customers that are subscribed to the email list.

Note: Retired policies are in effect for dates of service prior to the retirement date. In the absences of an LCD, NCD, or CMS manual instruction, reasonable and necessary guidelines still apply.

Please refer to the retired LCDs and articles index located on the LCD index page of the First Coast website for a listing of all retired LCDs and articles.