Medicare has approved a new technology add-on payment (NTAP) that will reimburse hospitals up to $137.53 per case in 2027 for use of Aidoc’s radiology artificial intelligence tool, the agency said in its recently finalized inpatient payment rule. The decision is part of a larger push by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to help hospitals adopt emerging medical technologies.
What the payment covers
The payment applies to Aidoc’s CARE Multi-Triage CT Body tool — also referenced as BriefCase-Triage — which uses AI to scan computed tomography images and flag potentially urgent findings, including suspected appendicitis and bowel obstruction. Hospitals using the product will be eligible for add-on payments beginning Oct. 1 and for the following three years, according to information shared by the American College of Radiology.
"Health systems are under increasing pressure to help patients receive accurate diagnoses sooner while managing growing imaging demand and persistent workforce shortages," Elad Walach, CEO and co-founder of New York-based Aidoc, said in a statement Aug. 13.
Scope and scale of the rule
CMS approved 22 products through an “alternative” NTAP pathway that also had previously received the FDA’s breakthrough device designation. An additional 8 products gained reimbursement through Medicare’s traditional payment pathway. Altogether, CMS expects to increase spending on inpatient cases involving emerging innovations by about $779 million in fiscal 2027, primarily driven by new technology add-on payments.
- $137.53 — maximum per-case add-on payment for the CARE CT Body Triage tool in 2027
- 22 — products approved via the alternative NTAP pathway
- 8 — products approved via the traditional NTAP pathway
- $779 million — additional CMS spending on inpatient emerging technologies in fiscal 2027
Coding and cost-offset details
The American College of Radiology noted the NTAP figure represents roughly 65% of the average cost of the technology. Cases that qualify for add-on payments will be identified by the ICD-10-PCS procedure code XEZ5XKC (computer-aided triage and notification for imaging abnormalities in computed tomography of chest, abdomen and pelvis, new technology group 12), ACR said.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Per-case add-on payment (2027) | $137.53 |
| Products via alternative pathway | 22 |
| Products via traditional pathway | 8 |
| CMS additional inpatient spending (FY2027) | $779 million |
Implications for hospitals and patients
The NTAP is designed to reduce the financial barrier hospitals face when adopting nascent technologies that lack established reimbursement rates. By covering a portion of the technology’s cost, the add-on payment aims to accelerate patient access to diagnostic tools that could identify acute conditions faster and help hospitals manage rising imaging demand amid staffing shortages.
Aidoc has emphasized the role of reimbursement in speeding uptake. The company describes the CARE CT Body Triage device as capable of screening for a broad set of acute findings on CT scans, a functionality that could be valuable in emergency and high-volume settings.
Beginning Oct. 1, hospitals that meet the eligibility criteria and use the product in qualifying cases will be able to claim the add-on payment for the three-year NTAP window. The ACR’s summary of the final rule provided the coding and percentage-of-cost context for the payment, noting that the NTAP amount covers a majority, but not all, of the technology expense.
The decision underscores a broader policy trend: CMS is increasingly using targeted add-on payments to nudge adoption of medical technologies that show promise but lack widespread use or established reimbursement. For vendors and health systems, NTAP awards can be a pivotal factor in whether a product achieves routine clinical uptake.
