2010-01-21
As congressional leaders continue efforts to reach a final agreement
on health reform legislation, ASH has joined with a number of
organizations to send a letter
to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) urging the inclusion of a provision to require
coverage of routine patient costs associated with clinical trial
participation in the final bill.
The provision, which was included in the Senate-passed health reform bill (HR 3590) but not in the House-passed bill (HR 3962),
would prohibit insurers from dropping coverage because an individual
chooses to participate in a clinical trial and from denying coverage
for routine care that they would otherwise provide just because an
individual is enrolled in a clinical trial. It would apply to all
insurance products, including those offered in the Federal Employees
Health Benefits Program, and to all clinical trials that treat cancer
or other life-threatening diseases. States that have enacted laws and
policies that go above and beyond the federal standard laid out in the
amendment would not be preempted.
ASH supported this provision during the Senate's consideration of health reform legislation in December.
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