Medicare Backs Down On Denying Treatment For Hepatitis Patient

Medicare Backs Down On Denying Treatment For Hepatitis Patient

Walter Bianco, an Arizona man denied access to new drugs to cure his hepatitis C infection, will get the costly medications after all.

After NPR and Kaiser Health News reported his plight on Monday, federal Medicare officials said they would investigate. Bianco's appeal of an earlier denial had been rejected by WellCare, a private insurer that contracts with the federal program to provide drug coverage.

Late Tuesday, Bianco's doctor got word that the earlier denials had been reversed.

Update 6:08 PM: Sean Cavanaugh, deputy administrator of the , told NPR: "Widely-accepted treatment guidelines for Hepatitis C have recently been updated, and it is our understanding that the Part D plan decided to overturn its denial of a particular Hepatitis C treatment based on guidance that was not available at the time of the initial decision."

But it's not clear whether Bianco's case does indeed set a precedent.....

Read more at NPR....