Transanal Radiofrequency Therapy for Fecal Incontinence (Secca®)
Customize your policy alerts
Sign up for Geisinger Health Plan Policy MP154 alerts
Get alerted when Policy MP154 changes without checking for updates manually.
Monitor payer policy activity
Defines Geisinger Health Plan's coverage stance for transanal radiofrequency therapy (Secca®) as a treatment for fecal incontinence and describes related coding, prior authorization context, and policy relationships.
No material clinical or coverage changes in this revision.
Coverage Criteria for Transanal Radiofrequency Therapy (Secca®)
Not covered (unproven)
Covered when ALL of the following are met
Determination based on Geisinger Technology Assessment Committee conclusion of insufficient evidence in peer-reviewed medical literature
Transanal radiofrequency therapy (Secca®) is excluded as experimental, investigational, or unproven. The Plan does NOT provide coverage for Secca® as a treatment for fecal incontinence because the Geisinger Technology Assessment Committee determined there is insufficient peer‑reviewed evidence to establish effectiveness on health outcomes when compared with established therapies. A complete description of the process for evaluating technologies determined to be experimental, investigational, or unproven is provided in policy MP015.
Secca® (transanal radiofrequency therapy) is considered unproven and is therefore not medically necessary / not covered by the Plan for treatment of fecal incontinence.
Coding Associated with Secca®
| 46999 | Unlisted procedure, anus |
Provider Actions and Authorization
Prior authorization may be required (codes informational)
Prior authorization and/or pre‑certification requirements may apply for services; listed codes are provided for informational purposes only and do not guarantee coverage.
- Prior authorization requirements can be found at: https://www.geisinger.org/health-plan/providers/ghp-clinical-policies
- Coding (e.g., CPT 46999) is informational and inclusion does not imply coverage or reimbursement
Provider actions — requests for Secca® are not covered
The Plan does not provide coverage for Secca®; providers should expect denials for requests that seek authorization for this service unless otherwise specified in the member contract.
- Transanal radiofrequency therapy (Secca®) is considered unproven and is excluded under the member certificate.
- Determination is based on the Geisinger Technology Assessment Committee conclusion of insufficient evidence.
Coding is informational; inclusion does not imply coverage
Coding shown in the policy is for informational purposes only; inclusion of procedure codes does not establish coverage and prior authorization may still be required.
- Example informational code: CPT 46999 (Unlisted procedure, anus).
- Coverage is determined by the member's specific benefit plan and applicable laws; Medicare coverage may be limited to specific CPT/HCPCS codes.
Denial risk — Secca® requests will be denied
Requests specifically for Secca® (transanal radiofrequency therapy) will be denied because the service is excluded as experimental/investigational/unproven under the member certificate.
- Unproven services outside an approved clinical trial are specifically excluded.
- See MP015 for the process and criteria used to determine experimental, investigational, or unproven status.
Background
Secca® delivers temperature‑controlled radiofrequency energy to the anal canal via an anoscopic device to create thermal lesions in the anal mucosa; healing and tissue contraction are theorized to improve sphincter tone and continence. Although evaluated in peer‑reviewed studies, the Plan's Technology Assessment Committee concluded the evidence is insufficient to demonstrate improved health outcomes versus established therapies, which underlies the Plan’s noncoverage determination.
Definitions
OpenPayer is powered by Trek Health's payer performance platform. Trek continuously ingests, validates, and normalizes Transparency in Coverage data alongside payer policies and other commercial payer data to create a structured payer intelligence foundation. OpenPayer uses this foundation to deliver personalized search results, dynamically generated policy pages, and tailored policy monitoring based on each user's payers, specialties, billing codes, and areas of interest. The same intelligence powers broader payer performance workflows, including reimbursement benchmarking, contract evaluation, payer negotiations, and financial decision-making.