US · guidance
NCD 140.5
Laser Procedures
Indications and Limitations of Coverage
Medicare recognizes the use of lasers for many medical indications. Procedures performed with lasers are sometimes used in place of more conventional techniques. In the absence of a specific noncoverage instruction, and where a laser has been approved for marketing by the Food and Drug Administration, Medicare Administrative Contractor discretion may be used to determine whether a procedure performed with a laser is reasonable and necessary and, therefore, covered.
The determination of coverage for a procedure performed using a laser is made on the basis that the use of lasers to alter, revise, or destroy tissue is a surgical procedure. Therefore, coverage of laser procedures is restricted to practitioners with training in the surgical management of the disease or condition being treated.
Revision History
05/1997 - Restricted coverage to practitioner's with training in surgical management of disease or condition being treated. Effective date NA. (TN 99)
04/1986 - Consolidated all other laser guideline-related sections into one section called Laser Procedures. Effective date NA. (TN 6)
History
Version 1
Provenance
- Source
- cms.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-26
- Edition
- mcd-2026-08-26
- Content hash
9215b69ecaaa2fe446e1154c86811d5ef94f8e1ccb5fce7c0262d93dff9051ad
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