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Medicare Cuts , p4 (1)
But most other drugs administered via injection in doctors’ offices or hospital outpatient clinics — as Bexxar and Zevalin are — are not reimbursed on the basis of what hospitals say they have paid. Instead, companies report the average price of their drugs to Medicare. Medicare then reimburses doctors and hospitals at that price, plus a 6 percent fee to cover handling costs.

GlaxoSmithKline said it had asked Medicare to switch to that system for Bexxar. So far, Medicare has refused.

Lymphoma patients, meanwhile, are anxiously watching the fight between Medicare and the companies.

Lora Beckwith, 66, first learned she had the disease in 2004. So far, her illness has progressed slowly, but last month, she was told that she would probably need treatment by February.

Because Ms. Beckwith, who lives in Ann Arbor, Mich., has Parkinson’s disease, she cannot receive standard chemotherapy for the disease, making Bexxar and Zevalin among her only alternatives. Now she fears she may not be able to get them.

“I’m not usually a vengeful or resentful person,” she said. “But I am feeling a bit resentful about having this taken away — if I can’t have access to a drug that would extend my life.”
 
 
Tags: Medicare
Posted By: Evmim Posted Yesterday News
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