Medicare moves to pay for Provenge

On Wednesday, Medicare officials signaled the federal insurance program will pay for this costly prostate cancer drug, a move that National Journal described as heading off "accusations that the [government] would be 'rationing' care."

The Wall Street Journal: Medicare Proposes Coverage Of Prostate-Cancer Drug
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed covering Dendreon Corp.'s prostate cancer drug Provenge, meaning that the federal government will likely continue paying for the treatment (Gryta and Mundy, 3/30).

The Washington Post: Medicare Moves To Pay For Prostate Cancer Drug Provenge
The federal health insurance program for the elderly moved Wednesday to pay for an expensive vaccine recently approved to treat men with advanced prostate cancer (Stein, 3/30).

National Journal: Medicare Agrees To Pay for Pricey Treatment
Medicare officials ruled on Wednesday that the federal health insurance plan will cover a costly prostate-cancer therapy, heading off accusations that the government-run health program would be "rationing" care. Provenge, which costs $93,000 for a full course of treatment was already covered by many local Medicare contractors. If the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had ruled against the immunotherapy drug, local contractors would have had to stop reimbursing for the treatment (McCarthy 3/30).

The Associated Press: Medicare To Pay For $93,000 Prostate Cancer Drug
Medicare officials said Wednesday that the program will pay the $93,000 cost of prostate cancer drug Provenge, an innovative therapy that gives men suffering from the disease an extra four months to live, on average. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid said the biotech drug made by Dendreon Corp. is a "reasonable and necessary" medicine. The decision ensures that thousands of men will be able to receive the drug through the federal government. The agency will take comments on the decision for 90 days before making it final (3/30).