More States Join the Movement: The Nerivio® REN Wearable Now Covered by Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia Medicaid Programs

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Oct 01, 2024, 08:15 ET

Following Colorado and Washington D.C., this expansion brings an additional seven million people into a new era of accessible and affordable non-drug migraine treatment.

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. and NETANYA, Israel, Oct. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Theranica, a prescribed neuromodulation therapeutics company, today announced Medicaid coverage for the Nerivio^® REN wearable in four more states: Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia, extending access to an additional seven million people. This FDA-cleared, non-drug treatment is available for both acute and preventive migraine management in adults and adolescents aged 12 and older.

Nerivio® REN wearable for adolescents and teens.

This expanded coverage underscores the growing recognition and importance of a non-drug migraine treatment as an alternative or a supplement to pharmacological medications. Providing affordable access to this type of therapy is critical for the underserved adolescent population, who are at a higher risk of the disease progressing and becoming chronic into adulthood. For adolescents who struggle with drug therapies, the FDA-cleared REN wearable offers an effective, safe to use, well-tolerated alternative.

"This state coverage marks a significant breakthrough for adolescents with migraine," said Dr. Shannon Babineau, M.D., Pediatric Neurologist with the Atlantic Health System in New Jersey. "Migraine treatment options for this age group are extremely limited, leaving a critical gap in care. The REN wearable's ability to relieve migraine pain and symptoms by tapping into the brain's natural mechanisms—without the need for needles and pills—offers a much-needed alternative. Yet without insurance coverage, patients might delay or forgo treatments due to cost concerns, leading to unmanaged symptoms and worsening health conditions. Patients shouldn't have to make that tradeoff."

Migraine disease is complex and non-curable, affecting 100 million adolescents worldwide. The impact of this disease often results in school absenteeism, loss of ability to participate in sports and social activities, and negative stigma. Additionally, most of the prescription medications for migraine have not been evaluated and approved for adolescents. These medications may have systemic side effects, while over-the-counter medications are often not as effective. In addition, excessive consumption of medications might lead to chronification and to medication overuse headaches (MOH).

"For adolescents who struggle with migraine, early diagnosis and safe intervention are essential to minimize the long-term impact of the disease," said Alon Ironi, CEO and co-founder of Theranica. "The Nerivio REN wearable provides a non-drug, effective therapeutic option to prevent and treat migraine. Unfortunately, pharmacological medications have become the standard of care, despite the medical community recognition that migraine doesn't have a one-fits-all treatment. It is time to rethink first-line migraine interventions for the benefit of younger patients."

Adolescence is a key imprinting stage of life, and uncontrolled migraine disease can negatively impact life trajectory and potentially lead to other disabilities. Early and effective intervention with both preventive and acute treatments is essential to break this cycle.

Stephanie Thompson from Mount Sterling, Kentucky, whose teenage daughter was diagnosed with migraine, explains the importance of the Nerivio REN wearable for management of the disease: "Before we discovered Nerivio, my daughter's migraine was so debilitating that she missed school and other activities she loved. With this innovative treatment, we've seen real improvement—it's discreet, easy for her to use, and most importantly, it's helping her enjoy life as a teenager. We have health insurance with Anthem but it does not cover Nerivio and that's a significant expense to pay out-of-pocket every month. I believe everyone should have affordable access to treatments prescribed by their medical specialists. This therapy is covered by other insurers in other states, I wish my daughter had the same access."

Earlier this year, Highmark, Blue Cross Blue Shield North Dakota, D.C. Medicaid and Colorado Medicaid all made the decision to add the Nerivio REN wearable (HCPCS code A4540) to their coverage policies, bringing the total number of Americans covered for this therapy to 25 million.

Despite these recent advances, access remains uneven across the U.S. "About 40 million of the 86 million Americans insured by Medicaid are under 18", said Lindsay Videnieks, executive director of the Headache and Migraine Policy Forum (HMPF), a not-for-profit organization which advances public policies and practices to accelerate innovation and improve access to treatments for persons living with headache disorders and migraine disease. "We salute Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia, and of course Colorado and the District of Columbia, for their leadership and for taking this important step in providing Medicaid coverage for the Nerivio REN wearable, which is a game-changing, non-drug treatment for migraines. The HMPF is calling on the remaining states to follow suit to ensure no patient has to give up or delay care due to cost concerns."

For more information about the Nerivio REN wearable, please visit www.nerivio.com.

About Nerivio
Controlled by a smartphone app and self-administered, the Nerivio REN wearable is a complete migraine care treatment that wraps around the upper arm and uses sub-painful Remote Electrical Neuromodulation (REN) to activate nociceptive nerve fibers in the arm. These fibers send signals that trigger a descending pain management mechanism in the brain called conditioned pain modulation (CPM), which turns off migraine pain and associated symptoms without medication. In simpler terms, the upper arm is stimulated to unleash a natural process in the brain to abort or relieve migraine headaches and other associated symptoms. Each treatment lasts 45 minutes and is applied every other day for prevention or at the start of a migraine attack for acute treatment.

About Theranica
Theranica is a neuromodulation therapeutics company dedicated to creating effective, safe, affordable, low-side-effect therapies for idiopathic pain conditions. The company's award-winning flagship wearable, Nerivio^®, is the first FDA-cleared prescribed migraine REN wearable for acute and/or preventive treatment of migraine. Nerivio has been used in more than 1 million migraine treatments in the U.S., including by adolescents and veterans. Learn more by visiting our websites, theranica.com and nerivio.com, and following us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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