Aetna · Identified Aug 13, 2026Medium impact
Cranial Remodeling (CPB 0379, reviewed 2026-05-26)
Cranial remodeling bands or helmets are considered medically necessary orthoses for moderate-to-severe positional head deformities associated with premature birth, restrictive intra-uterine positioning, cervical abnormalities, birth trauma, torticollis and sleeping positions in children, when banding starts at 3 to 12 months of age, a 2-month trial of repositioning has failed and is judged unlikely to work, and anthropometric data or medical notes document the asymmetry. Banding after surgery for synostotic plagiocephaly is considered medically necessary to correct continued asymmetry, and a trial of conservative therapy is not needed in that case, while a second band or helmet is medically necessary only under the listed conditions and bands are contraindicated after 2 years of age or in unshunted or uncontrolled hydrocephalus. Use for persons who do not meet these criteria is considered cosmetic, and banding without surgery for synostotic plagiocephaly, pre-operative molding helmet therapy for sagittal craniosynostosis, banding for calcified cephalohematoma, and polycaprolactone mesh in pediatric cranial vault remodeling are considered experimental, investigational or unproven.