Recent Accounting Pronouncements (Policies)	3 Months Ended
Recent Accounting Pronouncements (Policies)	Mar. 31, 2018
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements Revenue Recognition In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued authoritative guidance requiring entities to apply a new model for recognizing revenue from contracts with customers and the reporting of principal versus agent considerations. The guidance supersedes the current revenue recognition guidance and requires entities to evaluate their revenue recognition arrangements using a five step model to determine when a customer obtains control of a transferred good or service. The guidance became effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2018. See note 4 for further discussion. Accounting for Leases The FASB issued guidance to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. In accordance with the updated guidance, lessees are required to recognize the assets and liabilities arising from operating leases on the balance sheet. The guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within 2019. The Company is currently reviewing the potential impact of adopting the new guidance.
Revenue Recognition and Net Product Sales	Revenue Recognition and Net Product Sales The new revenue standard became effective for the Company on January 1, 2018, and was adopted using the modified retrospective method. Based on the Company's evaluation of all of its product revenue contracts under the new revenue standard there was no cumulative adjustment recorded in the financial statements upon adoption of Accounting Standards Codification 606, Revenue Recognition, (ASC 606) on January 1, 2018. In addition, there is no difference in the accounting for revenue under ASC 606 versus ASC 605 (applicable revenue guidance effective until December 31, 2017) for the three months ended March 31, 2018. The Company recognized product revenue from sales to a customer (distributor or hospital) following the five step model in ASC 606: (i) identify contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenues when (or as) the Company satisfies the performance obligation. Under the new revenue standard, the Company recognizes revenue when its customer obtains control of the promised goods, in an amount that reflects the consideration which the Company expects to receive in exchange for those goods. There are no contractual rights of returns, refunds or similar obligations related to MACI, kits, or Epicel as of March 31, 2018; however, in certain limited cases the Company does not bill the customer for the product if a surgery is canceled and there is no impact to revenue recognized. Currently, for MACI, kits and Epicel there are no variable pricing arrangements, warranties or rebates offered to customers. Primarily all orders are due within 60 days of delivery. Shipping and handling costs are included as a component of revenue. The Company recognizes any commission fees as an expense when incurred due to the short-term nature (less than 1 year) of the time period from order of a product to delivery. These fees are included in selling, general, and administrative expenses. There are no returns, refunds or similar obligations related to MACI, kits, or Epicel as of March 31, 2018. MACI Kits and Implants MACI (and previously Carticel) kits are sold directly to hospitals based on contracted rates in the approved contract or sales order. The Company recognizes MACI (or Carticel) kit revenue upon delivery of the biopsy kit at which time the customer (the doctor) is in control of the kit. The kit provides the doctor the ability to biopsy a sampling of cells to provide to the Company that can be used later to manufacture the implant. The ordering of the kit does not obligate the Company to manufacture an implant nor does the receipt of the cell tissue. The customer’s order of an implant is separate from the process of ordering the kit. Therefore, the sale of the kit and any subsequent sale of an implant are distinct contracts and are accounted for separately. The Company recognizes product revenues from sales of MACI (and previously Carticel) implants upon delivery at which time the customer is in control of the implant and the claim is billable. Prior authorization or confirmation of coverage level by the patient’s private insurance plan, hospital or government payer is a prerequisite to the shipment of product to a patient. The Company's net product revenues from hospitals are based on contracted rates stated in the approved contract or purchase order. The Company’s net product revenues from the third party distributor are primarily based on a contracted rate stated in the approved contract. In certain cases, the Company sells through the distributor but retains the credit and collection risk as well as the risk that a third party payer rejected a claim or reduced the allowed amount payable for an implant. The net revenue for these certain cases are based on expected payments from the insurance provider, hospital or patient. The estimates are based on publicly available rates and past payer precedents. Changes in estimates are recorded through revenue in the period such change occurs. Net product revenues from sales to distributors may include a prompt pay discount. Epicel The Company sells Epicel directly to hospitals based on contracted rates stated in the approved contract or purchase order. Similar to MACI, there is no obligation to manufacture skin grafts upon receipt of a skin biopsy and Vericel has no contractual right to receive payment until the product is delivered to the hospital. The Company recognizes product revenues from sales of Epicel upon delivery to the hospital at which time the customer is in control of the skin grafts and the claim is billable to the hospital.
Revenue Recognition for License Grants, Milestone and Royalty Payments	Revenue Recognition for License Grants, Milestone and Royalty Payments The Company recognizes other revenue from contracts with customers related to license grants, milestone related payments and royalty based payments by also following the five step model described above. Upon adoption of ASC 606, the Company reassessed the accounting for its license agreement with Innovative Cellular Therapeutics CO., LTD. (ICT) discussed in note 15. The Company identified its performance obligations under the agreement which include the license, a training obligation, and supply of certain raw materials for technology transfer. Based on its assessment of this agreement under the new revenue standard the Company determined that the license is distinct and provides ICT with the right to use the Company's technology and accordingly revenue should be recognized at the point in time at which the Company delivered the license (December 2017). This evaluation was based on 1) the rights provided to ICT under the license, including the ability to sublicense 2) the nature of the technology (primarily rights to technology already commercially approved in the US) and 3) ICT's ability to benefit from the license on its own including using its own existing resources as a manufacturer of autologous cell therapies. The transaction price was determined to be $1.2 million. No milestones or royalties are included in the transaction price as the criteria for including these variable payments have not yet been met. The Company assessed the allocation of arrangement consideration noting no differences in allocation from that determined under ASC 605. The license was delivered in December 2017 and revenue of $1.2 million was recorded in 2017 under the then applicable revenue accounting standard ASC 605. Based upon the Company's evaluation under ASC 606 there was no change in amount or timing of revenue recognized for the agreement and therefore no cumulative change adjustment was recorded upon adoption of the new revenue standard on January 1, 2018. The Company’s remaining performance obligations under the ICT license agreement consist of a training obligation related to technology transfer, and supply of certain raw materials for technology transfer. The ICT license agreement provides for future milestone payments due to the Company upon the achievement of certain developmental and commercial events. The Company evaluates these milestones under the new revenue recognition standard at contract inception and at each reporting period date. Based on the Company’s evaluations to date, the Company has not included any of the future milestones in its determination of the transaction price as it is not yet probable that a significant reversal of revenue would not occur if the milestones were to be recognized. This evaluation was based on 1) the pace and eventual achievement of the milestones are largely dependent on ICT’s performance of its contractual obligations and the Company has no prior experience to determine the likelihood of ICT performing those obligations, and 2) the transfer of the funds for each of the milestone payments by ICT to the Company, if achieved, is subject to approval by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the People's Republic of China. The Company does not anticipate receiving any milestone payments in 2018 or in the near-term. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that the Company will receive any such milestone or receive any such transfer of funds from ICT ever. The ICT license agreement contains future sales-based royalties to the Company in the low-to-mid double digits. These royalties meet the exception for sales-based or usage-based royalties because they predominantly relate to the license and will be recognized when and if the subsequent sales occur. However, there can be no assurance that the Company will receive any such royalties or receive any such transfer of funds from ICT ever.