Thursday January 7, 6:59 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: VidaMed, Inc.
VidaMed's Tuna(R) Procedure Gains Additional State-Level Medicare Reimbursement
Alabama, Kansas, Nebraska and Western Missouri Approve Medicare Payment
FREMONT, Calif., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- VidaMed, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIDA - news) today announced that, effective immediately, Alabama, Kansas, Nebraska and Western Missouri will provide Medicare Reimbursement for the Company's TUNA (Transurethral Needle Ablation) Procedure, a minimally invasive treatment of symptoms associated with enlarged prostate disease, or Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). The TUNA Procedure is now reimbursed by Medicare in twenty-five states.
''We are pleased to see the continued progression of state-level Medicare approvals. This accomplishment is a result of a great deal of time and effort put forth by the Company over the past year. Last year at this time, only four states were providing Medicare reimbursement of the TUNA Procedure. Nearly half of the states currently providing reimbursement of the Procedure have adopted policy within the last 30 days,'' said Randy Lindholm, VidaMed's Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing.
''We believe the recent reimbursement success is directly related to the long-term clinical data which supports the safety, efficacy and durability of the TUNA Procedure. We expect the momentum of state-level Medicare reimbursement to continue over the next few months and as this happens, we will continue to focus our sales and marketing efforts on those states which offer Medicare reimbursement of the TUNA Procedure,'' Lindholm added.
VidaMed designs, develops, manufactures and markets technologically and clinically advanced cost-effective systems for the treatment of urological conditions. Founded in 1992, VidaMed is headquartered in the Silicon Valley in Fremont, California.
Certain statements in this news release, including statements relating to the demand for the TUNA Procedure, contain forward-looking information. Actual results may vary significantly from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties, including the rate of adoption of the TUNA Procedure by the medical community, the impact of competitive treatments, products and pricing, the development and effectiveness of the Company's sales organization and marketing efforts, and other risks, including those set forth in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 14, 1998. The Company's actual results may differ significantly from the results anticipated by the forward-looking statements as a result of these and other factors.
For additional patient information and VidaMed's physician referral service, please call (800)328-8781. For Investor Information on VidaMed, Inc. at no cost, please call (888)301-2498 or order it from |
