Blue Shield launches pilot project for breast cancer therapy.SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 19, 1995--Blue Shield of California this week announced the launch of a new clinical pilot project expected to increase access to a controversial breast cancer therapy for patients meeting certain eligibility criteria. The project will be implemented as a voluntary, discretionary effort by Blue Shield Blue Shield A US not-for-profit health care insurer that is a reimbursement intermediary for physicians. Cf Blue Cross. to pay the cost of high dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplantation autologous bone marrow transplantation Transplantation medicine The administration to an individual 'X' of his/her own BM, often to a leukemic Pt in relapse who, because a suitable HLA-matched donor is not available, would otherwise die of the disease. See Bone marrow. or peripheral stem cell support (HDC/ABMT) for selected participants in research-based treatment programs at designated contracting centers in California. The four Blue Shield-approved bone marrow transplant bone marrow transplant: see bone marrow. facilities are located at Stanford University Medical Center Stanford University Medical Center (Stanford Hospital & Clinics) is one of four hospitals affiliated with Stanford University and Stanford University School of Medicine, along with the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Palo Alto, and Santa ; University of California, San Francisco Medical Center; University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. Medical Center; and City of Hope National Medical Center City of Hope is one of 39 NCI-designated Cancer Centers and is located in the city of Duarte, California. City of Hope comprises an ambulatory and in-patient cancer treatment center as well as a biomedical research facility known as the Beckman Research Institute and the City of Hope , Duarte. Concurrent with the pilot project, Blue Shield will continue its prior support of the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) ongoing clinical trials to evaluate the medical value of HDC/ABMT, according to Blue Shield Senior Vice President and Medical Director, Wade M. Aubry, M.D. "HDC/ABMT for breast cancer is still considered an investigational therapy and is not a covered benefit under Blue Shield of California Blue Shield of California is a not-for-profit health insurance provider headquartered in San Francisco, California. An independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Blue Shield of California is an incorporated, wholly owned subsidiary of California Physicians' health plans. Based on a careful evaluation by the organization's Medical Policy Committee on Quality and Technology on four separate occasions since 1990, it has been determined there is still insufficient scientific data to conclude that the therapy provides a net health benefit over traditional forms of treatment for breast cancer." "While it is expected the NCI See Liberate. randomized-controlled trials may not provide such conclusive results for two or more years, our organization, nonetheless, felt it was important to take some voluntary step to address this key women's health issue," said Dr. Aubry. The decision to embark on the pilot project will not alter Blue Shield's current medical policy on HDC/ABMT for breast cancer. The therapy will not be a covered benefit until necessary scientific evidence is available to substantiate the safety and efficacy of the procedure. In this respect, Blue Shield will be monitoring and evaluating the results of the pilot project, as well as the ongoing NCI trials, said Dr. Aubry. Patients seeking to participate in the pilot project must receive pre-authorization by the Blue Shield Medical Director for treatment at one of the program's contracting medical centers. Blue Shield of California is one of the state's leading managed care companies, serving more than 1.5 million members and annually paying over $1.7 billion in health care benefits. The San Francisco-based organization operates one of the state's fastest growing HMOs -- with enrollment doubling over the past two years to more than 280,000. Blue Shield also serves nearly 1.3 million Medicare beneficiaries, administering medical claims benefits amounting to more than $1.5 billion annually. CONTACT: Blue Shield of California Mike Odom, 415/445-5281 |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion