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Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (TCET)

A Medicare pathway that provides time-limited, expedited coverage for certain FDA-designated breakthrough devices while additional evidence is gathered. TCET aims to speed beneficiary access to innovative technologies while balancing the need for clinical data.

What is Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (TCET)?

Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (TCET) is a Medicare coverage pathway that grants time-limited, expedited coverage for certain devices that the FDA has designated as breakthrough technologies. During this period, additional clinical evidence is gathered to inform a longer-term coverage decision.

The pathway is intended to balance two goals: getting promising innovations to beneficiaries sooner while ensuring that real-world evidence on safety and effectiveness continues to accumulate.

Why does TCET matter for payers and providers?

TCET addresses a longstanding gap in which newly approved devices could face uncertainty about Medicare coverage even after clearing the FDA. A structured, time-bound coverage path gives manufacturers and providers more predictability about reimbursement.

For the revenue cycle, coverage status under a pathway like TCET shapes whether a new technology can be billed to Medicare and under what conditions, making it relevant to teams forecasting reimbursement for emerging procedures and devices.

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