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WASHINGTON (AP) - Medicare officials infuriated lawmakers and oncologists last year by limiting when the government would pay for anemia drugs used by cancer patients. Now, an advisory committee suggests even more limits on the drugs.
"I think it's been found that we seem to have done the right thing and indeed may need to go further," said Dr. Barry Straube, chief medical officer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In July, Medicare determined that it would only reimburse doctors when they administered anemia medications to patients with hemoglobin levels below a certain threshold — 10 grams per deciliter. Officials made the change after the Food and Drug Administration added stern warnings to the drugs' labels. The labels urged doctors to use the lowest possible dose to avoid the need for blood transfusions.
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