Medicare To Cover PET Scans for Breast Cancer
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on Feb. 28 announced that Medicare will begin covering positron emission tomography (PET) scans for people with breast cancer, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports. Patients who receive a PET scan are injected with a "radioactive tracer" that "collects in certain organs," including those with tumors. A computer then detects the tracer and allows doctors to diagnose a tumor or check the progression of cancer, according to the AP/Sun (AP/Las Vegas Sun, 2/28). A PET scan typically costs between $2,000 and $3,000 (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 11/7/00). The AP/Sun reports that about 90,000 Medicare beneficiaries are diagnosed with breast cancer each year (AP/Las Vegas Sun, 2/28). In December 2000, Medicare began covering the cost of PET scans to diagnose recurrent lung, esophagus, colon and rectum, lymphoma, melanoma and mouth and throat cancers. Previously, Medicare had
covered PET scans for only a few cancers where studies indicated
the test had benefit (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 12/18/00). That expansion was considered controversial: While advocates argued that PET scans could more accurately and quickly diagnose illness, opponents noted that the procedure could pose high costs to Medicare (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 11/7/00).
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