Medicare Nixes Coverage For New Cancer Tests

Medicare has sharply changed the way it pays for diagnostic tests, cutting payment rates and curtailing coverage for some new tests altogether.

The makeover in the way that Medicare reimburses molecular diagnostics has been foreshadowed for years, but was abruptly put into effect this summer.

Affected are the kinds of tests that probe for gene and protein markers found in our body’s tissues. These tests help doctors diagnose a multitude of diseases and monitor our response to drug treatments. They are used in a variety of medical settings. Some of their greatest promise has been in personalizing the treatment of cancer by tailoring drug therapies to a person’s unique tumor type.

The labs that perform the test are the same outfits that market them. The tests are typically sold as a laboratory service, rather than marketed as a medical device.

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Source: Forbes