State and School Employees' Health Insurance Plan - Recarbrio (imipenem-cliastatin-relebactam)

POLICY NUMBER

S.5.01.548

Recarbrio (imipenem-cilastatin-relebactam)

Please perform a search of the State Health Plan Medical Drug Formulary for drugs administered and billed through the medical setting.

DESCRIPTION

Recarbrio (imipenem-cilastatin-relebactam) is indicated in patients 18 years of age and older with hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia and in patients 18 years of age and older who have limited or no alternative treatment options, for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), including pyelonephritis and complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) caused by susceptible gram-negative microorganisms.

POLICY

Recarbrio (imipenem-cilastatin-relebactam) is considered not medically necessary as there are other alternatives covered by the Plan for treatment of hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia, ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia, complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), and complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI).

Recarbrio (imipenem-cilastatin-relebactam) is considered investigational for all other conditions not outlined in this policy.

POLICY EXCEPTIONS

None

POLICY GUIDELINES

Medical Policy Manual coverage guidelines should not be used in lieu of the Participant's specific benefit plan language outlined in the Mississippi's State and School Employees’ Life and Health Insurance Plan.

Medically Necessary is defined as those services, treatments, procedures, equipment, drugs, devices, items or supplies furnished by a covered Provider that are required to identify or treat a Participant's illness, injury or Mental Health Disorders, and which Company determines are covered under this Benefit Plan based on the criteria as follows in A through D:

A. consistent with the symptoms or diagnosis and treatment of the Participant's condition, illness, or injury; and

B. appropriate with regard to standards of good medical practice; and

C. not solely for the convenience of the Participant, his or her Provider; and

D. the most appropriate supply or level of care which can safely be provided to the Participant. When applied to the care of an Inpatient, it further means that services for the Participant's medical symptoms or conditions require that the services cannot be safely provided to the Participant as an Outpatient.

For the definition of medical necessity, “standards of good medical practice” means standards that are based on credible scientific evidence published in peer-reviewed medical literature generally recognized by the relevant medical community, and physician specialty society recommendations, and the views of medical practitioners practicing in relevant clinical areas and any other relevant factors. BCBSMS makes no payment for services, treatments, procedures, equipment, drugs, devices, items or supplies which are not documented to be Medically Necessary. The fact that a Physician or other Provider has prescribed, ordered, recommended, or approved a service or supply does not in itself, make it Medically Necessary.

BCBSMS may request medical records for determination of medical necessity. When medical records are requested, letters of support and/or explanation are often useful, but are not sufficient documentation unless all specific information needed to make a medical necessity determination is included.

Investigative is defined as the use of any treatment procedure, facility, equipment, drug, device, or supply not yet recognized as a generally accepted standard of good medical practice for the treatment of the condition being treated and; therefore, is not considered medically necessary. For the definition of Investigative, “generally accepted standards of medical practice” means standards that are based on credible scientific evidence published in peer-reviewed medical literature generally recognized by the relevant medical community, and physician specialty society recommendations, and the views of medical practitioners practicing in relevant clinical areas and any other relevant factors. In order for equipment, devices, drugs or supplies [i.e, technologies], to be considered not investigative, the technology must have final approval from the appropriate governmental bodies, and scientific evidence must permit conclusions concerning the effect of the technology on health outcomes, and the technology must improve the net health outcome, and the technology must be as beneficial as any established alternative and the improvement must be attainable outside the testing/investigational setting.

POLICY HISTORY

07/01/2023: New policy added.

03/20/2025: Policy reviewed and approved by the Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T) Committee. Policy description updated regarding indications for Recarbrio (imipenem-cilastatin-relebactam). Policy statement revised to add that Recarbrio (imipenem-cilastatin-relebactam) is considered not medically necessary for the treatment of hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia. Sources updated.

SOURCE(S)

Recarbrio prescribing information. Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC. October 2024. Last accessed February 2025.

CODE REFERENCE

This may not be a comprehensive list of procedure codes applicable to this policy.

Not Medically Necessary Codes

CPT copyright American Medical Association. All rights reserved. CPT is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association.