A national coverage determination (NCD) is a United States' nationwide determination of whether Medicare will pay for an item or service.
Medicare coverage is limited to items and services that are considered "reasonable and necessary" for the diagnosis or treatment of an illness or injury (and within the scope of a Medicare benefit category).
In the absence of a NCD, an item or service is covered at the discretion of the Medicare contractors based on a Local Coverage Determination (LCD).
Read more about National Coverage Determination: What Triggers An NCD?, The NCD Decision Process, Relationship of NCDs and LCDs, Evaluating LCDs For NCD Consideration
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“[D]rilling and arming, when carried on on a national scale, excite whole populations to frenzies which end in war.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)