NuVasive's SpineTRACK Registry Gains New CMS Designation

The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services has recently granted NuVasive, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:NUVA) SpineTRACK Registry the designation of Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR). This feat comes as a significant milestone for the company.

The designation is for the 2018 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) reporting year. With the QCDR tag, participants will now be able to use the SpineTRACK platform to earn Medicare payment incentives.

It is important to note that NuVasive-sponsored SpineTRACK Registry is a prospective, multicenter, observational data collection quality improvement tool. It works as a comprehensive and collaborative data collection and quality improvement solution in the field of spine surgery. SpineTRACK uses real-time reports, which help making better treatment decisions.

Within the scope of Quality Payment Program, there are two tracks and MIPS is one. Notably, the program is instrumental in shifting Medicare Part B providers to a performance-based payment system. It streamlines three historical Medicare programs namely Physician Quality Reporting System, Value-based Payment Modifier Program and the Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program (Meaningful Use) into a single payment system.

The above three categories further comprise four indicators such as Quality (50%), Improvement Activities (15%), Advancing Care Information (25%) and Cost (10%). Per NuVasive, each weighted category is factored into a final score that can impact Medicare payments by a plus or a minus 5% in 2020.

By dint of QCDR designation, NuVasive expects the SpineTRACK Registry to successfully support the MIPS Quality reporting requirements on behalf of eligible providers. Management claims that the SpineTRACK platform is the longest-running spine outcomes database sponsored by any spine company.

On a positive note, the QCDR designation is expected to help the company’s customers meet quality reporting criteria. This in turn should also aid the physicians to deliver optimal results and earn incentives to help them evolve with time and develop their practices as well. NuVasive is highly optimistic about this development and expects the same to add some effective value to align with its focus on providing systems-based spine solutions.

In recent times, the spine surgery product market has witnessed growth in leaps and bounds. Per a ResearchMoz report, this market is estimated to reach a value of $16.7 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 5.8%.

Over the past six months, NuVasive has significantly underperformed the broader industry. The stock has lost 26.6% versus a 6.5% gain of the broader industry.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

NuVasive carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) , Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) and HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Centene has a projected long-term growth rate of 14.4%. In the past six months, the stock has returned 16.3%.

Haemonetics has an expected long-term growth rate of 10.8%. Last month, the stock has returned 4.9%.

HCA Healthcare has an expected long-term growth rate of 11.5%. In the past month, the stock has returned 8.7%.

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