In re CMS Cancer Drug Reimbursement Policy

On February 10, 2004, WLF filed comments with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in opposition to the agency’s national coverage reviews of four advanced anti-cancer drugs. CMS administers the Medicare program. The agency has announced that it is considering whether to deny reimbursement for off-label uses of key drugs for colorectal cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which kill thousands of Americans annually. WLF, joined by the Abigail Alliance and the Lorenzen Cancer Foundation, argued that off-label prescribing is vital to cancer treatment and that CMS lacks the authority to deny coverage of these medicines.