Oncologists Call For Medicare to Reconsider Anemia Drug Re...(e therapies we use to treat our patients...),Health

In its reconsideration letter to CMS, COA notes, "It is readily apparent the CMS NCD essentially overrules the FDA scientific expertise by deeming ESAs unsafe and ineffective when used in the range of >=10 g/dL and <12 g/dL. Equally distressing is the fact that CMS is using a reimbursement policy to substitute its own clinical judgment, rather than allowing physicians to exercise their own clinical judgment for each individual patient's circumstances, as recommended in the newly revised FDA-approved label." COA further notes, "there is evidence to suggest that initiating ESA treatment at a hemoglobin level >10 g/dL significantly reduces the risk of transfusion."

COA is asking CMS for immediate reconsideration of the portions of the NCD dealing with cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

For additional information contact Ted Okon, COA Executive Director, taokon@sosacorn.com, 203-715-0300.

The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) is a non-profit organization. The mission of COA is to foster and protect the community oncology delivery system in the United States through public policy, advocacy, and education. Eighty-four percent of Americans battling cancer receive high quality, affordable, and accessible cancer care in community oncology clinics close to home. The accessibility of high quality cancer care, coupled with earlier diagnosis and new therapies, has resulted in a decreased cancer mortality rate.