Medicare lifts Minder System payment 13% to US$31,265 for CY2027
Epiminder Limited (ASX: EPI) has secured a higher Medicare payment for the Minder System, with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalising the CY 2027 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) rule. The rule assigns the Minder System implant procedure to Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) 5117.
The national Medicare payment rate is US$31,265, up 13% from US$27,700 in 2026. It takes effect on 1 January 2027.
The announcement was issued from Melbourne, Australia and Dallas, United States on 5 November 2026.
For US hospitals, the Medicare payment for the Minder System is now defined and predictable when the procedure is performed in the hospital outpatient setting.
| Year | APC | National payment rate | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| CY2026 | n/a | US$27,700 | n/a |
| CY2027 | 5117 | US$31,265 | 13% increase |
Why the outpatient setting matters
The Minder System is implanted through a minimally invasive subscalp procedure. That makes the hospital outpatient department a natural setting of care.
According to the company, this makes the payment rate central to how US hospitals will evaluate and adopt the technology.
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How Medicare outpatient payment works
In the US, Medicare determines payment levels for hospitals for procedures performed in the outpatient setting. CMS groups procedures based on clinical similarity and resource use.
The Medicare payment covers the hospital’s costs for the procedure, including the implanted device. The national rate is adjusted for local wage levels at each hospital.
A clear payment pathway gives hospital finance and value analysis teams predictability when bringing a novel device into their programmes, as Epiminder’s Vice President of Market Access and Commercial describes below.
Between 30% and 50% of US inpatient epilepsy admissions end with inconclusive monitoring stays, an estimated 25,000 to 45,000 each year, which is the structural gap hospitals are weighing against the new payment rate.
Momentum behind the US commercial launch
The Medicare 2027 payment determination builds on several recent developments:
- The FDA issued an expanded paediatric clearance last week.
- Enrolment of the 100th participant in the DETECT study was announced in mid-October 2026.
- The company expects to reach 125 participants in DETECT by December 2026.
- The Minder System was authorised by the FDA via the de novo pathway and is being used in DETECT as a marketed device in a post-market study.
- The UMPIRE first-in-human multicentre trial, published in Epilepsia (2025), demonstrated Minder’s safety and high-quality signal acquisition across extended monitoring periods.
The expanded paediatric clearance lowered the minimum patient age for the device from 18 to 12, widening the pool of drug-resistant epilepsy patients who can be offered continuous monitoring without any change to the hardware.
Dr Rohan Hoare, CEO of Epiminder
“Confirmation of the 2027 Medicare outpatient payment for the Minder procedure is another major step forward for our US commercial launch… this decision gives us a solid foundation to expand access to the Minder System across leading US epilepsy centres in 2027.”
Chip Moebus, Vice President of Market Access and Commercial at Epiminder
“…a national payment rate of $31,265 gives hospital finance and value analysis teams the predictability they need to bring a novel device into their programs. Ultimately, this decision is about patients. People living with drug-resistant epilepsy deserve access to continuous EEG monitoring, and a clear payment pathway helps hospitals bring it to them.”
About the Minder System
- A minimally invasive implantable continuous EEG Monitoring (iCEM®) device.
- Continuously records bilateral subscalp EEG.
- Transmits data via an external wearable and smartphone application to a secure cloud platform.
- Enables real-world monitoring over months or years.
Epiminder was founded in 2017 by Professor Mark Cook together with the Bionics Institute, St Vincent’s Hospital, the University of Melbourne and Cochlear Limited.
What happens next for Epiminder
- 1 January 2027: the new Medicare payment rate of US$31,265 takes effect, applying to the Minder System implant procedure in the hospital outpatient setting.
- By December 2026: the company expects DETECT enrolment to reach 125 participants.
- 2027: expansion of access to the Minder System across leading US epilepsy centres, as stated by the CEO.
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