Clinical Trials And Medicare
Medicare is a health insurance policy funded by the government of the United States for its senior citizens who have crossed the age of 65 years. Patients who are covered under this medical insurance policy and suffering from Mesothelioma should understand the trial process to have a clear understanding of what costs incurred in the trial would be covered under Medicare program.
A patient does not have to bear the costs of a clinical trial if the trial is funded by the national Cancer Institute (NCI). Same thing would be applicable in case of trials funded by the Cancer Centers designated by the NCI or by the Clinical Trials Cooperative groups that are NCI sponsored. Several federal agencies might also go for funding the clinical trials. The goal also determines the funding criteria. If the goal of the trial is to detect and treat Mesothelioma then the costs are supposed to be covered. But these institutes do not cover the costs of cancer prevention trials.
The Clinical Trial participants can also get their costs covered by the Medicare on account of outpatient services like professional fees to the doctor, routine tests or the procedures involved in the trial. There is a potential risk of harmful side effects while a new drug is experimented on the patients and so additional health care costs might be involved to cope up with these side effects. These costs incurred due to hospitalization on account of the side effects are also covered under Medicare. Professional services costs that arise during the administration of the clinical drug are also covered under the Medicare programs.
But Medicare does not cover all the costs of the Clinical Trials. For example, it does not cover the costs of services used for collection of data for the trial or any coinsurance or deductibles. Again, if the sponsor provides something free of cost then this cost is not covered under Medicare. For more information, one might contact Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).