Arthrocare Gets No Medicare Love

SIG Susquehanna analyst David Turkaly has been warning about Arthrocare throughout much of that fall. He reiterated his negative rating, once again, following the company's latest setback.

"We have been saying since late last year that PDD received very little, if any, national reimbursement and therefore brought into question ARTC's recent 40%-plus growth rate in spine," noted Turkaly, who continues to steer investors away from Arthrocare even though his firm owns stock in the company itself. "ARTC's PPD SpineWand has been on the market since 2001 - more than seven years - and yet there is very little convincing data (scientifically powered) that demonstrates its utility, and only a small number of doctors are performing the procedure nationwide."

Ultimately, he concluded, "CMS (is) not buying PDD, either."