NCD (National Coverage Determination)

CMS national policy specifying when an item or service is covered under Medicare. 357 active NCDs cover items like cardiac defibrillators, bariatric surgery, transcatheter aortic valve replacement. NCDs apply uniformly across all Medicare beneficiaries and override LCDs. Published in the NCD Manual (Pub 100-03). NCDs typically include specific ICD-10 diagnoses required for coverage and clinical criteria.