Broader off-label coverage under Part D
Executive Summary
Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sam Brownback, R-Kan., urge broader access to off-label indications under Medicare Part D in a May 22 letter to the Senate Finance Committee. The senators, who co-chair the Senate Cancer Coalition, urge that Medicare legislation being drafted by the committee include a provision allowing Part D plans to consider the "full range" of evidence in making off-label coverage decisions and bring reimbursement standards for Part D "into line with coverage standards used under Medicare Part B and by commercial insurers." CMS is currently reviewing appropriate compendia for off-label coverage under Part B (1"The Pink Sheet," April 14, 2008, p. 15)