[mmglobal]

The first session this morning was for cervical ADR. One of the presenters mentioned that for many of his work comp cases, some of the insurance companies are now ASKING for ADR instead of fusion. His presentation included cost-benefit analysis and one of the most stand-out figures was the return to work time. 14 days cervical ADR versus 60 days fusion!!!

I bumped into one of my favorite surgeons, Frank Coufal. He told me that just YESTERDAY, he received a letter from United Health Care stating that they have changed their policy and will be covering single-level cervical ADR when appropriate.

They have finally realized that the outcomes are better and true costs are lower (even if the implant is more expensive).

We knew that cervical was being adopted faster than lumbar, but these 'wins' for the industry, while unreasonably later, are still huge and welcome news.

Mark