Articles tagged with: Medicare
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A recent U.S. study of elderly myelodysplastic syndromes patients found that low red blood cell, white blood cell, and blood platelet levels are associated with a high rate of health care utilization and a high death rate.
The study authors emphasized that the prevention and management of these low blood cell counts is important because of their impact on both the patient’s well-being as well as the health care system.
“[Blood cell] counts need to be followed closely and treatment (when possible) be initiated to maintain good blood counts,” said Dr.…
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Phase 1 Clinical Trial Of Potential MDS Treatment, Liposomal Grb-2, Begins – A Phase 1 clinical trial of a new agent called liposomal Grb-2 will evaluate the safety and tolerability of the treatment in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or leukemia. The trial, which is being conducted at MD Anderson Cancer Center, is still enrolling patients. Liposomal Grb-2 blocks the body’s production of the protein Grb-2, which is linked to leukemia and solid tumors. This novel treatment is being developed by the biotechnology company Bio-Path Holdings. For more information, see the Bio-Path Holdings press release (pdf) or the clinical trials registry for the study.
Medicare Denies Coverage Of Stem Cell Transplants For MDS – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) ruled that Medicare recipients with MDS will not receive coverage for donor stem cell transplantation unless participating in a qualified clinical trial. CMS decided that previous studies have not shown that transplants improve outcomes of Medicare recipients with MDS. However, in the interest of further studying the efficacy of transplantation for MDS, Medicare will cover transplantation costs for patients participating in certain clinical trials investigating transplants in Medicare beneficiaries. These include studies that investigate whether transplantation improves outcome, factors that predict outcome, or what treatment facility characteristics improve outcome. For more information, see the CMS Decision Memo.
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is currently accepting input from the public about whether the Medicare program should be expanded to cover the cost of bone marrow and umbilical cord blood transplants for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients. Submissions can be made on the CMS Web site through December 10.
Medicare coverage of bone marrow transplants, the only known curative treatment for MDS, is important because 80 percent of MDS patients are 65 or older. MDS patients typically respond best to allogeneic stem cell transplantation, where the bone…