All of the Americans who receive their insurance benefits from Medicare need to become aware that the Medicare Open Enrollment Period begins today, October 15. What is the Medicare open enrollment period?During this open enrollment period you can make new choices and pick plans that work best for you depending upon your doctors and [...]
All of the Americans who receive their insurance benefits from Medicare need to become aware that the Medicare Open Enrollment Period will begin this coming October 15. What is the Medicare open enrollment period?During this open enrollment period you can make new choices and pick plans that work best for you depending upon your doctors [...]
Will the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) be able to optimize patient care with regard to both on-label and off-label drugs? CMS', at this time, has not shown itself to be either in favor or against new technology or the introduction of new uses for drugs. They still seem interested in promoting access [...]
Yesterday Dendreon, the producers of Provenge, received word from the FDA that their plant in California had been approved to manufacture Provenge. This afternoon they received a positive response from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that a final National Coverage Decision (NCD) for Provenge has been issued requiring Medicare contractors to cover [...]
The battle to make sure that Provenge is available nationally (in the United States) to all men who meet the FDA approval requirements is continuing. We have made great steps through the “noise” that the community has made to date. We have successfully reached, what I believe is, the final step in insuring that Provenge [...]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CME) decided to review their policies pertaining to paying for Provenge, which costs $93,000 per man. Since the hearings which were held a number of months ago, we have not heard any feedback. Despite this, most of the regions have been paying for the treatment, however there have [...]
Today, I spent most of the day listening to the CME (Medicare & Medicaid) hearing on Provenge. CME does not have to abide to the decisions of the advisory committee, so like we experienced with the FDA Advisory Committees we will have to wait and see what will eventually become the policy for reimbursement. I [...]
We are about to enter into a dark period in health care which is best exemplified by the roaring debate over the issue about Medicare funding for Provenge. The bottom line of the debate comes down simply to, what is the value of one human life? […]
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the U.S. agency in charge of Medicare, announced yesterday that it has scheduled a meeting to discuss the coverage of Dendreon’s prostate cancer vaccine Provenge. The meeting has been scheduled for this November 17. […]
A member of the advanced prostate cancer on-line support group who is the wife of an advanced prostate cancer survivor in New Mexico just informed us that Trailblazer (the MAC that controls New Mexico reimbursements for Medicare and Medicaid) has said they will not pay for her husband to get Provenge. They were also told [...]
