How much does Crosslinking for Keratoconus cost?

There is limited evidence on the costs of corneal crosslinking, but it may be as high as $2,500 to $4,000 per eye in the United States. a cost-effectiveness study estimated the costs of the total treatment for one person as £928 in the UK National Health Service.

Is crosslinkig for keratoconus covered by health insurance?

Since FDA approval of corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) for keratoconus in April 2016, many insurance companies have started covering this procedure for progressive keratoconus and keratectasia.

What is the CPT code for corneal collagen crosslinking?

Category III CPT 0402T: Collagen crosslinking of cornea, including removal of the corneal epithelium and intraoperative pachymetry when performed.

CPT Category III codes represent temporary codes for new and emerging technologies. They have been created to allow for data collection and utilization tracking for new procedures or services. With this Category III code the individual payers will decide whether to cover the procedure.

Which corneal crosslinking method is covered?

FDA has approved corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) for progressive keratoconus in April 2016. this approval only covers the crosslinking products developed by Avedro, Inc. this FDA-approved method involves corneal epithelial debridment, hence it is known as epithelium-off or epi-off crosslinking.

At this time, epi-on crosslinking method is not approved by FDA and thus it is not covered.

Below is an updated list of insurance companies in United States that cover corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) for progressive keratoconus:

Payer Name Payer Region Aetna National AmeriHealth DE, NJ, PA Anthem National Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield AR BCBS Health Advantage AR Blue Cross Blue Shield FEP National Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama AL Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona AZ Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida FL Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia GA Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois IL Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas KS Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City Kansas City, Northwestern MO, Johnson & Wyandotte Counties Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana LA Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts MA Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan MI Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota MN Blue Cross Blue Sheild of Mississippi MS Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana MT Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico NM Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina NC Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota ND Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma OK Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island RI, CT, MA Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina SC Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee TN Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas TX Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont VT Blue Cross of Idaho ID Blue Shield of California CA BlueChoice Health Plan of South Carolina SC Capital Blue Cross Central PA Capital Health Plan FL CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield MD, DC, Northern VA Cigna Health National ConnectiCare CT Dean Health Plan WI Emblem Health NY Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield NY Fallon Health MA Geisinger Health PA, DE, ME, NJ, WV Harvard Pilgrim MA Hawaii Medical Service Association HI Health Alliance Plan of Michigan MI Health New England MA HealthNet CA, AZ HealthPartners Minnesota MN, ND, SD, WI Highmark Blue Shield DE, PA, WV Horizon Blue Cross of New Jersey NJ Humana National Independence Blue Cross PA, NJ, DE, MD John Hopkins HealthCare MD Kaiser Permanente AZ, CA, CO, DC, GA, HI, MD, NV, TX, VA, WA Medica Health Plans MN, WI, ND, SD Medical Mutual OH Moda Health OR Nebraska Blue NE Premera Blue Cross WA, OR, AK Presbyterian Health NM, AZ, CO, TX Priority Health of Michigan MI Providence Health Plan OR, WA Public Employee Health Plan (PEHP) UT Quartz - Unity Health WI Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield ID, OR, UT, WA Rocky Mountain Health Plans CO, NE Scott & White Health Plan (SWHP) TX Select Health ID, UT Tricare TRICARE Policy Manual: Rare Diseases, Eye And Ocular Adnexa, Available to all Tricare beneficiaries, including dependents. also see this comment. Tufts Health Plan MA, RI United Healthcare National Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield IA, SD This list is subject to change. It is not intended to be a directive, nor is it a suggestion about the likelihood of coverage or reimbursement. Please confirm with your individual carriers.

Avedro's ARCH Program

The ARCH (Avedro Reimbursement Customer Hub) program is a service to help keratoconus patients with reimbursement questions, prescription assistance and the possibility of financial assistance for eligible patients.

Call the ARCH Hotline 844-528-3311 for questions about coding, billing, claims submissions or payer coverage for corneal cross-linking with Photrexa® Viscous and Photrexa® with the KXL® System.

Visit Avedro's website to learn more about insurance coverage and find cornea specialist who perform corneal crosslinking.

Learn more about corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL)