|
The Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have opted to deny
national coverage of ocular photodynamic therapy (OPT) with
verteporfin (Visudyne) for the treatment of age-related macular
degeneration (AMD) with occult lesions.
CMS reversed
its October 2001 decision to expand the national coverage
policy for the treatment, denying Medicare beneficiaries access
to the only effective treatment available to prevent the condition,
a leading cause of blindness in people over age 50.
"We
are deeply saddened at the specter of people losing their
vision when the outcome could have been so different and so
positive," said Charles Crawford, Executive Director
of the American Council for the Blind. "The harm done
by this decision is sufficiently severe to warrant continued
advocacy aimed at reversing this tragic decision."
"The
American Association of People with Disabilities is baffled
by CMS's decision to deny Medicare coverage for a therapy
that is considered the 'standard of care' by the American
Academy of Ophthalmologists and by retinal specialists across
the country," said Andrew J. Imparato, President and
CEO of AAPD. "Now only the wealthy will have access to
this sight saving treatment for AMD, the leading cause of
blindness in the Medicare population."
A total
of 1.7 million elderly Americans, which is 5 percent of the
total population over age 65, have some degree of vision loss
due to AMD, which causes the deterioration of the central
region of the retina resulting in the permanent loss of central
vision.
"This
decision will almost certainly result in a greater number
of older people losing their vision for lack of access to
the best possible treatment for AMD," said Dan Perry,
Executive Director of the Alliance for Aging Research. "Vision
loss among older people is a prime cause of lost personal
independence. Preserving independent living for older Americans
should be a higher goal of our public policy."
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of April 7, 2002
|
HOME PAGE
