Urge Senate to Oppose Changes to Medicare Clinical Trials Coverage
Medicare officials plan to make an important decision THIS WEEK that could threaten seniors' access to clinical trials.
CALL AND URGE YOUR SENATORS TO SIGN THE CARDIN-BROWNBACK LETTER TO PROTECT THE CURRENT MEDICARE CLINICAL TRIAL COVERAGE
On July 19, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed decision memo that would dramatically alter Medicare coverage for participation in clinical trials. CMS is expected to release its final decision by October 17th.
Senators Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) are asking their colleagues to sign a letter to CMS in opposition to the proposed policy change. The Partnership and many other cancer organizations applaud Senators Cardin and Brownback for their leadership on this important issue.
The certification process proposed in the policy is burdensome, duplicative, and impractical. In large part, the certification process duplicates what research institutions already must provide to other Federal agencies and institutional review boards (IRBs).
The certification process will discourage provider participation in clinical research and greatly add to its cost, while providing no tangible benefit.
The proposed policy will likely result in fewer Medicare beneficiaries participating in clinical trials - compromising the overarching goals of the clinical research policy that CMS reaffirmed in its July 2006 reconsideration announcement.
Thank them for their attention to this important matter.
Click here to view the proposed policy that would rescind automatic Medicare coverage for participation in trials that are funded by the federal government, such as the National Cancer Institute, or reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
