Natural Cycles Receives HCPCS Level II Code from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for its birth control app

The code will be used to facilitate the processing of health insurance claims by insurers, helping Natural Cycles users get reimbursed for their non-hormonal birth control method

NEW YORK, April 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Natural Cycles, a leading women's digital health company and maker of the world's first birth control app, announced the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") established a new HCPCS (Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System) Level II code to identify Natural Cycles. The Natural Cycles code, A9293, became effective on April 1, 2024.

The Natural Cycles app, which received the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) De Novo clearance in 2018, is used to prevent pregnancy naturally without hormones. There are six days in each cycle a woman can become pregnant, and the app is powered by an algorithm that analyzes daily hormone-driven temperature changes to confirm if the user is fertile that day or not. To receive their temperature-powered daily fertility status, users can manually take their body temperature with a thermometer or sync overnight temperature data from an integrated wearable device when they wake up.

The HCPCS level II code will ensure Natural Cycles is described consistently across the healthcare industry, making it easier for insurers to cover a subscription to the FDA Cleared Natural Cycles birth control app.

"Our goal is to make Natural Cycles accessible to all who benefit from a non-hormonal birth control method, and an established HCPCS code will go a long way in making sure our users get properly reimbursed from their insurers," said Natural Cycles co-founder and CEO Dr. Raoul Scherwitzl. "We also see this as the next step in ensuring American insurance companies comply with federal mandates to cover and pay for Natural Cycles without any patient co-pays."

HCPCS Level II is a standardized coding system used primarily to identify products, supplies, services, and durable medical equipment. The coding system is maintained by CMS. Commercial payers use the nomenclature to classify products and typically follow CMS' lead on coding decisions, although each payer can set their own payment rates.

"Securing a unique HCPCS code that is acceptable to commercial and government insurers represents a major milestone for Natural Cycles," said Jerry Stringham, President of Medical Technology Partners, the reimbursement strategy consulting firm that Natural Cycles worked with to secure the new code. "The availability of a unique code will greatly simplify the process for accelerating claims processing," he added. 

Natural Cycles is also exploring a pilot program with select commercial health insurance plans to streamline the claims process for members.

To learn more about how to get Natural Cycles covered by insurance, please visit: naturalcycles.com/insurance.

About Natural Cycles°

Founded in 2013 by Dr. Elina Berglund and Dr. Raoul Scherwitzl, Natural Cycles is a leading women's health company that developed the world's first birth control app. As a Class II medical device, the NC° app is cleared by the FDA in the United States and certified to be used as a contraceptive in Europe, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and South Korea. The NC° app is powered by an algorithm that uses body temperature to determine each user's daily fertility status. Users can manually take their body temperature with a thermometer or sync overnight temperature trend data from an Oura Ring or Apple Watch when they wake up. Natural Cycles also offers fertility-as-a-service to third-party partners, including Samsung. While not to be used as birth control, Samsung Galaxy Watch users with temperature sensors can access advanced cycle tracking through the Cycle Tracking feature, which is powered by Natural Cycles. For more information on the company, its scientific research, or how the NC° app works, visit naturalcycles.com.

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SOURCE Natural Cycles