The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services makes several national coverage decisions-rules about Medicare coverage policy that are imposed nationally-each year, but it has never focused much attention on oncology services.
That may change in the years ahead. Avalere Health, a research and advisory organization, recently analyzed the oncology landscape and concluded that "the incoming wave of innovation in oncology may receive increased scrutiny by CMS."
The organization's analysis suggests that four oncology topics may be ripe for national coverage decisions:
* Screenings for prostate and lung cancers.
* Treatments for localized prostate cancer.
* Therapies to manage non-small-cell lung cancer.
* Pharmacogenomic testing for breast and colon cancers.
In an OT Broadcast News iPad Exclusive, Reginald Williams II, an Avalere Health Director, discusses this analysis with OT Contributing Writer and "Practice Matters" blogger Lola Butcher.
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