2009-12-17

Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) have introduced an amendment to the Senate health reform bill (HR 3590) currently under consideration to require coverage of routine patient costs associated with clinical trial participation. The amendment would prohibit insurers from dropping coverage because an individual chooses to participate in a clinical trial and from denying coverage for routine care that they would otherwise be provided just because an individual is enrolled in a clinical trial. It would apply to all insurance products, including those offered in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and to all clinical trials that treat cancer or other life-threatening diseases. States that have enacted laws and policies that go above and beyond the federal standard laid out in the amendment would not be preempted.

ASH has supported this amendment.

Senators Brown and Hutchison hope to have their amendment included as part of the final health reform proposal on which the Senate will vote.

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