Medicare reimbursement change criticized

A change in the reimbursement level by the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for two oncology products has come under attack from patient groups. According to the New York Times, the new regime comes as new data confirms the efficacy of UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline's Bexxar (tositumomab) and the US Biogen firm Idec's Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan).

From January 1, the CMS will only reimburse the two radioimmunotherapy drugs at a rate of $16,000 per treatment. A course of Bexxar or Zevalin can cost $30,000 and $50,000, respectively, the manufacturers say. The federal agency claims that the price being offered is close to the actual one being negotiated by clinics with the manufacturers. Previously, the CMS said its policy of settling claims on a case-by-case basis had resulted in wildly-different prices.

Mark Kaminski, the co-director of the leukemia and lymphoma transplant program at the University of Michigan, USA, told the NY Times: "the explanation that they're giving is really flawed." Dr Kaminski was one of the Bexxar discovery team.