Insurers opt to cover bladder treatment

United Healthcare, the nation's largest health insurer, has agreed to cover a unique electrical stimulation system that treats symptoms of an overactive bladder.

The system, called the Urgent PC Neuromodulation System, is made by Minnetonka-based Uroplasty Inc. A needle is inserted near the ankle, and then a battery-powered stimulator sends electrical impulses to a group of nerves at the base of the spine called the sacral nerve plexus that controls bladder activity.

United Healthcare, also based in Minnetonka, insures about 33 million people nationwide through various affiliates. In addition, Uroplasty said Cigna Government Services, the Medicare carrier for about 750,000 people in Kentucky, and Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, a regional insurer in New York, agreed to cover the system.

Officials at Uroplasty say about 16 percent of adults in the United States suffer from symptoms of overactive bladder -- the sudden and uncontrollable need to urinate. Treatment often involves drugs, surgery and behavioral therapy.

The company says half of the people enrolled in a 220-patient clinical trial who were treated with the system urinated less frequently and with less urgency.

Uroplasty's system involves 12 office visits, and the Medicare reimbursement is $1,600, although private insurers may pay a little more.

CEO David Kaysen said reimbursement by Medicare and private insurers is critical to the success of a medical device. "If you don't have it, you frankly don't have a company," he said.

Next, the company will seek regulatory approval in the United States to use the system to treat fecal incontinence, or the inability to control bowel movements.

Janet Moore • 612-673-7752