Bloomberg Law Share to FacebookShare to Twitter (1/27, Pugh, Subscription Publication) reported CMS agreed to extend Medicare coverage of comprehensive genetic tests to “patients with inherited ovarian and breast cancer.” Medicare will now “cover laboratory tests using next-generation sequencing” for these patients. The move “is expected to reduce deaths and improve health outcomes for cancer patients because it allows simultaneous detection of numerous types of genetic alterations.”
Medscape Share to FacebookShare to Twitter (1/29, Young, Subscription Publication) reported the policy will also grant Medicare administrative contractors “flexibility to decide whether to cover these tests for other uses.” Medicare coverage of next-generation sequencing is limited to tests with FDA approval, and “results must be provided to physicians for management of the patient using a report template to specify treatment options.”