Health Policy Affairs

SIR extends its appreciation to Brian Schiro, MD, RPVI, FSIR, for presenting to the Washington State Health Care Authority’s Health Technology Assessment (HTA) program on Nov. 21, 2025. Because the HTA informs coverage decisions for Uniform Medical Plans, Medicaid and the Departments of Labor and Corrections, and influences policy across other state agencies, its determinations carry significant impact. The Nov. 21 meeting addressed the efficacy, safety and cost of lower-extremity endovascular interventions for peripheral artery disease. SIR emphasizes that treatment decisions must be individualized and based on shared decision-making between patients and clinicians. For patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI), prompt intervention is critical for limb salvage; requiring ischemic, non-healing wounds to persist for four weeks before intervention is clinically unsafe and exposes patients to an unacceptably high risk of preventable, life-changing amputations, Dr. Schiro said in his presentation to WA HTA.