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 [...]
What is the real cost of approved treatments for advanced prostate cancer and how much we should spend? These questions are rippling through the prostate cancer community and the general population. […]