PET advocates continue to receive good news on the reimbursement front. A week after announcing it would provide coverage for determining myocardial viability in patients with ischemic heart disease, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said today that it would also add coverage for the use of PET in the management of care for patients with breast cancer.
Under the new policy, Medicare coverage will provided for PET full-and-partial ring scanners as an adjunct to standard imaging modalities for:
- Staging patients with distant metastasis or restaging patients with locoregional recurrence or metastasis.
- Monitoring tumor response to treatment for women with locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer.
CMS said it would publish a National Coverage Decision creating this new coverage, with actual implementation set to take place after instructions are issued for the private contractors that process and pay Medicare claims.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writersFebruary 28, 2002
Related Reading
CMS expands PET reimbursement, February 20, 2002
U.S. gives thumbs-down on PET for Alzheimer's, January 11, 2002
CMS tackles FDG-PET reimbursement for Alzheimer’s, January 10, 2002
PET scanning plus new molecular probe detects early Alzheimer's disease in vivo, January 10, 2002
PET payment cut will force efficiency, procedure volume gains, December 6, 2001
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