Avastin to be covered by Medicare despite FDA ruling

CBS

(CBS) Avastin may have gotten the thumbs-down from the FDA, but Medicare says it will continue to cover the cost of the drug for treating breast cancer.

That's potentially big news for breast cancer patients who believe the controversial drug is a life-saver even though an FDA panel ruled Wednesday that the drug is neither safe nor effective against breast cancer.

The final decision as to whether Avastin will lose its approval for treatment of breast cancer will be made sometime after July 28 by FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, the New York Times reported.

"The FDA decision, when it comes, does not affect CMS," Don McLeod, a spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), told Reuters. "The drug will still be on the market, doctors will still be prescribing it, and we will continue to pay for it."

Will private insurers follow CMS' lead? A WellPoint Inc. spokeswoman said it would not drop support for patients already taking Avastin and is unlikely to disrupt coverage for new patients, according to Reuters.

Avastin is prohibitively expensive, costing about $8,000 a month, the Los Angeles Times reported.

For now, Avastin's maker, Roche, plans to continue to provide Avastin free to women without insurance or whose insurance abandons coverage for the drug, Reuters reported.

What do doctors say about the fate of Avastin as a breast cancer drug?

Dr. Michael Naughton, assistant professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, told the Los Angeles Times he was disappointed with the FDA decision, saying, "A lot of patients aren't helped at all, but there's a small number who are helped a lot."

Breastcancer.org has more on breast cancer treatment.

[signseeker1717]

Currently, there is ALREADY a third "person" in the exam room - it's called health insurance (or NOT). INSURANCE companies decide what they will pay for. "Mass medicine" is already commonly practiced because they will not pay for drugs or treatments that are not shown to be effective for large numbers of people ("best practices" and "evidence based medicine" are already with us). As far as your last two sentences go, 1) Are you referring to clinical trials? No one participates without written consent, and 2)I've never heard of anyone DENIED health care "if they question" ANYTHING. You can get what you want if your doctor recommends it and if YOU have the means to pay for it. I don't know where you got your information because I don't open files for which I have no reputable source. "ObamaCare" has not yet taken effect, so if this is supposed to be some sort of scare tactic, it doesn't work for me.

I might add, you ALSO have the option to DECLINE drugs and/or treatments. All breast cancer "patients" (I never did like that term; it implies passivity) need to educate themselves on their illness, weigh ALL options, and manage their own health care.

Avastin is used for a particular type of breast cancer: metastatic HER2-negative. It is used in conjunction with chemo, and was originally intended to treat other cancers, NOT breast cancer. So I can see why positive results can vary widely, as a doctor in the article states. My heart goes out to those patients; when your life is on the line, you'll try and do almost anything. I know; I am a two-time breast cancer survivor myself. My prayers to all those out there going through this horrible ordeal.

[RobertFinneyPhD]

Patients' Right to Informed Consent
Kaiser Permanente patients do not have the option to decline treatment, because they are not informed that they are included in research. Kaiser's doctors do not inform patients of tests and treatments, if they are costly and/or require out of plan referral.
Kaiser's kidney transplant patients in California were not informed that kidneys were available for transplant, due to cost. It took a Los Angeles Times investigation to force Medicare to make Kaiser stop harming the patients. According Kaiser's own studies, kidney failure patients were not informed of their diagnosis and were not treated at all for decades in California, Washington, Oregon, and Georgia.
I inform patients so that they may advocate for their best interest. That is their fundamental right. If you choose not to read my information, go to the LA Times and read interviews with Kaiser's kidney failure patients, who were harmed.
Avastin helps some women; it's their right to be informed and to make up their own minds. Upon further information and reflection, I hope that you will reconsider your opinion. It's in your best interest to base your opinions on substantiated fact.

[RobertFinneyPhD]

Make War on Health Greed, Not Women's' Cancer Treatment
Women's cancer treatment does not need to be cut, much less ended. Eradication of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement by politicians, health plans, medical groups, and special interests would fund medically necessary health care for all Americans.
"Best practices" and "evidence based medicine" are a scam by government and insurance company rationing panels to justify rigged cost and statistical studies. Payment to physicians and hospitals will be based on compliance with these "practices" and "evidence."
Doctors will be forced to practice "mass medicine" that may not be in the interest of individual patients. The doctor-patient relationship will have a third person in the exam room-the health plan. Kaiser Permanente's medical group admitted this in an article.
Below are two examples of how best practices work at Kaiser Permanente, ObamaCare's model. Patients are used in experiments without consent. Patients are denied health care if they question the application of best practices to their individual situations.

http://www.hmohardball.com/Writ-GIN024734_2b001.pdf

http://www.hmohardball.com/100,000%20Kiddney%20Patients%20text.pdf