MedTech Dive: A ResMed-supported analysis of a French insurance database presented at this week’s European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress concludes obstructive sleep apnea patients treated with continuous positive airway pressure therapy were 39% more likely to survive than patients who didn’t.

The study is not yet published or peer reviewed. The review comes several months after an HHS agency’s review of 47 studies cast doubt on CPAP efficacy evidence. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality concluded that available evidence “mostly does not support” a link between CPAP therapy and long-term, clinically important outcomes for obstructive sleep apnea. 

The government’s final report, due by the end of the year, could have major implications for big players in the space like Philips and ResMed. Jefferies analysts noted that CMS triggered the AHRQ review and “seems intent on seeking further reimbursement adjustments in CPAP” with the final report presenting a potential outsized risk.

CMS’ request for AHRQ’s report poses a risk “in that it challenges the [long term] benefits of CPAP machines in obstructive sleep,” according to Jefferies, whose analysts suggested a possible downside scenario in which the final AHRQ report results in CMS reimbursement cuts and reduced CPAP utilization. 

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