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To: Sig who wrote (9617)	11/5/2002 5:38:18 PM
From: D.B. Cooper	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13815

re; That GIVN looks very very good Reuters UPDATE 1-Given Imaging says Medicare to pay for camera pill Tuesday November 5, 12:00 pm ET By Julie Steenhuysen (Adds analyst, CEO comments, details, byline, updates stock activity) CHICAGO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Israel's Given Imaging Inc. (NasdaqNM:GIVN - News) on Tuesday said it will receive Medicare reimbursement for its tiny, ingestible camera, which is used to diagnose small bowel disorders. ADVERTISEMENT Yoqneam, Israel-based Given Imaging said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will pay $625, less than what the company had expected, for the camera-in-a-pill device and the hospital's service-related costs. Medicare is the federal insurance program for the elderly. Given Imaging President and Chief Executive Gavriel Meron told Reuters that the reimbursement covers the $450 cost of the device and gives hospitals an incentive to invest in the required overhead. The system consists of the camera pill, a workstation to view the patient's bowels and a recorder belt worn by the patient. Analyst Wade King said the rate is a bit lower than the $750 the company had expected, but said it is not surprising given CMS's cost-conscious mind-set. "I think anything above $450 is good, especially because it incents the facility to want to do this procedure. Most facilities are not getting incremental reimbursement for the hardware," he said. The disposable pill camera, which is about the size of a large vitamin pill, takes 8 hours to travel through the small intestine before passing through the rectum. The company said it is awaiting the agency's ruling on payment of physician fees to view the bowels through the camera and diagnose diseases, which it expects in January. Given must seek reimbursement for the device from private insurance providers on a company-by-company basis, King said. Given's shares fell 30 cents, or 3 percent, to $9.50 in midday Tuesday on the Nasdaq, after falling as low as $9.30 in the session.