Doctors and patients who need Medicare reimbursement for certain experimental treatments won’t have to negotiate with the billing department to receive the money.

 

Medicare had announced its decision to expand its coverage for cancer drugs last summer but the change took effect in the fall.

Under the new ruling, Medicare must reimburse doctors or patients for virtually all cancer drugs, even those that are not yet approved by the Food & Drug Administration.

 

According to a report published in the online edition of The New England Journal of Medicine, Congress has severely limited Medicare’s ability to control costs on cancer.

The situation has lead to a 26% increase in drug spending over a period of seven years.

The Government pays for cancer care through programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Department of Veteran Affairs.

 

Cancer doctors welcomed Medicare’s decision with strong support saying that off-label prescribing has long been a standard practice in their field.

“In some instances ... the medical community may have scientific evidence that supports using a drug to treat a disease even if the drug's FDA-approved label does not include those clinical conditions,” Medicare said, according to a June 5 news release explaining the decision.

 

The increase in health care spending in the US was the smallest since 1998 due to the growing use of generic drugs. Overall, healthcare spending in the US grew at 6,1 % in 2007, the slowest rate in nearly 10 years, according to federal reports. Government programs like Medicare and Medicaid, as well as private insurance companies prefer generic drugs, which are less expensive than branded drugs, statisticians explain the phenomenon.