Prognosis
Medicare Expands Its Coverage of Costly Cancer Breakthrough
- Novartis, Gilead blood cancer drugs to be covered nationwide
- CMS will pay for all facets of care done in or out of hospital
Photographer: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
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The U.S. government will expand payment nationwide for breakthrough blood-cancer treatments from Novartis AG and Gilead Sciences Inc. whose use has by stymied by uneven reimbursement from federal health programs.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Wednesday that the move is part of a new policy to standardize how patients get access to therapies, ensure widespread coverage and help hospitals better offset the substantial cost that can come with administering them.