CMS to Reimburse Physicians for Remote Chronic Care Starting January 1, 2015

RICHMOND, VA--(Marketwired - Nov 4, 2014) - Beginning January 1, 2015, physicians can bill Medicare for "non-face-to-face" chronic care management (CCM) according to the final 2015 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) adopted Friday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This decision opens up an enormous opportunity for companies, such as ALR Technologies Inc. (OTCQB: ALRT), who offer non-face-to-face remote monitoring programs for chronic disease.

Physicians may access this new reimbursement opportunity by utilizing ALR Technologies' diabetes management program that has been modified to meet the requirements of the new CMS reimbursement rule by ensuring 20 minutes of chronic care management per month. ALRT's diabetes management program will permit physicians to access Medicare's new $42.60 per patient per month payment for the management of chronic disease. Most importantly, it offers the potential to improve patient outcomes, as demonstrated by clinical trials, and to raise physician group quality scores for diabetes treatment. Details of the ALRT offering can be found on the corporate website at: http://www.alrt.com

CMS had announced the proposed rule containing updates to the PFS July 3. The final rule, announced Friday, can be found here:

http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2014-26183_PI.pdf

"For the first time, CMS will pay for non-face-to-face, chronic care management services -- which is precisely ALRT's core expertise: non-face-to-face diabetes management," said Bill Smith, President of ALR Technologies. "We currently have patients enrolled in a program with the Kansas City Metropolitan Physicians Association (KCMPA) and our agreement with KCMPA will bring compensation to ALRT with the PFS change. We intend to bring our diabetes management program to additional physician groups across the country who can access this new reimbursement and then more closely monitor the health of their diabetes patients."

The Medicare-eligible diabetes population is expected to rise to 14.6 million by 2034.

According to data from the American Diabetes Association the estimated total health cost related to diabetes is about $245 billion. As of 2011, one out of every three Medicare dollars is spent on diabetes.

"CMS policymakers are being very farsighted in reimbursing physicians for the use of remote monitoring technologies that hold the promise of assisting busy physicians in managing more patients more effectively," said Sidney Chan, founder and CEO of ALRT. "Medicare is embracing these new technologies and, if history is any guide, private sector plans may follow as Medicare is often a trendsetter in reimbursement policies."

About ALR Technologies Inc.
ALR Technologies is a medical device company providing remote monitoring and care facilitation for patients with chronic diseases. ALRT has developed the FDA-cleared and HIPAA compliant Health-e-Connect System that collects data from blood glucose meters and uploads to a secure website. Trained Facilitators use the System to effect efficiency of care among patients, clinicians and caregivers to improve outcomes and assist health plans to optimize their quality goals. Currently, the Company is focused on diabetes and will expand its services to cover other chronic diseases anchored on verifiable data. More information about ALR Technologies, Inc. can be found at www.alrt.com.

This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" relating to ALR Technologies' business, and these statements reflect the current views of ALR Technologies with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. When used, the words "estimate," "expect," "anticipate," "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. There are many factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of ALR Technologies and its products to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Further management discussions of risks and uncertainties can be found in the company's quarterly filings with the Securities Exchange.

Fact Sheet

CMS's Decision to Reimburse Physicians for Chronic Care Management

• On October 31, CMS issued a rule to create a new CPT code for Chronic Care Management (CCM). CCM reimbursement would only be permitted for patients with 2 serious chronic conditions.
  
  
• Physicians would be paid $42.60 per patient per month when they themselves, their staff, or "affiliated" staff performed 20 minutes of CCM per month. CCM is defined specifically as activities that help manage chronic conditions in a "non-face-to-face" manner.
  
  
• CMS specifically indicated in the final rule that: "Practitioners who engage in remote monitoring of patient physiological data of eligible beneficiaries may count the time they spend reviewing the reported data towards the monthly minimum time for billing the CCM code... "
  
  

ALRT's New Diabetes Chronic Care Management Medicare Offering

• ALR Technologies has developed a diabetes management program designed specifically to assist physicians and physician groups in accessing this new reimbursement and in improving the health of their diabetes patients. The new offering has the following elements:

1. An FDA-cleared platform for remotely monitoring blood glucose data, the Health-e-Connect system.
2. Certified Diabetes Educators (CDEs) who remotely monitor blood glucose trends and who then work with the patient's care team so clinicians can adjust the patient's care plan based upon the data.
3. Trained clinical staff working behind-the-scenes to coordinate activities for patients that meet NCQA and ADA guidelines for diabetes care.
4. An online tracking system to chronicle monthly per patient chronic care management in order to demonstrate 20 minutes of meaningful activity as required by the new reimbursement rule.