Corporate Compliance

CMS vows to improve care for cancer patients

Compliance Monitor, November 3, 2004

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CMS said November 1 it would implement a set of new steps to improve care for cancer patients by expanding coverage for screening tests and treatments, developing better evidence on which treatments work best for beneficiaries with cancer, and implementing a demonstration program to measure and improve quality of care.

CMS says it proposed coverage expansions for the following:

  • Additional "off-label" uses in research studies for new cancer drugs that are already approved for colorectal cancer, including oxaliplatin (Eloxatin), irinotecan (Camptosar), bevacizumab (Avastin), and cetusimab (Erbitux)
  • Positron emission tomography (PET) scans for cervical cancer, and for studies of PET for the diagnosis and staging for a broad range of cancer types

    The $300 million nationwide demonstration program is open to all oncologists to measure and improve the quality of care provided Medicare patients.

    For more information on the CMS proposed coverage decision for cancer drugs, click here.

    For more information on the decision for expanded PET scan coverage, click here.



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