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VIEW ALL NEWSMedicare will not pay for "virtual" colonoscopy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Medicare will not pay for so-called virtual colonoscopy, or CT colonography.
"Evidence is inadequate to conclude" that CT colonography is an appropriate colorectal cancer screening test for Medicare patients, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said on Tuesday in a statement on its website.
The decision finalizes a February proposal from CMS.
The American Cancer Society and other groups had argued in favor of Medicare coverage of the scans, saying they could motivate seniors to undergo a screening test they might otherwise avoid.
The CTC Working Group, a coalition of doctors, patients and imaging equipment manufacturers, urged Medicare to reconsider the ruling.
Virtual colonoscopy "can overcome patient objections to being screened, detect cancer early when it is most treatable, and ultimately save lives. If CMS will not reconsider this coverage decision, Congress should vote to mandate Medicare coverage" of the technology, Dr. James Thrall, chair of the American College of Radiology Board of Chancellors, said in a statement issued by the coalition.
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