News

Between October 2025 and March 2026, SIR, in collaboration with multiple medical specialty societies, sent letters to Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) of Minnesota, Health Care Services Corporation (BCBS Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas), Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare regarding policies that classify peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) as experimental and investigational for the treatment of chronic pain. Across these letters, we highlighted the extensive and growing body of clinical evidence supporting PNS as a safe, effective and minimally invasive, non-opioid therapy, including randomized controlled trials, FDA-cleared technologies and recognition under Medicare coverage policies.

We urged these payers to reconsider and revise their policies to reflect current evidence and standards of care, ensuring appropriate patient access to PNS and reducing reliance on more invasive procedures or opioid-based treatments. SIR continues to engage with these stakeholders and looks forward to ongoing discussions to support evidence-based coverage decisions.