Medicare Will Cover New Mayo Test
Some big news today for Mayo Clinic and the Exact Sciences company. It was announced
that Medicare will provide coverage immediately for a product developed by Mayo and Exact Sciences known as Cologuard.
The product is the first and only FDA-approved stool DNA test for the detection of colorectal cancer and precancer to be covered by Medicare, which will pay for a Cologuard test every three years. Its initial reimbursement will be $502, much less than an invasive colonoscopy.
Mayo became the first healthcare provider to offer the product. Mayo says Cologuard offers patients who are at average risk for colorectal cancer an easy to use screening test that can be used in the privacy of their home. Patients learn of their results in as little as two weeks. Those who do receive a positive result will need to undergo colonoscopy. Mayo’s Dr. David Ahlquist was co-inventor of the test.
It will be available to Mayo patients in the near future. It will also be available to non-Mayo patients through Exact Sciences.
Today’s news of Medicare coverage caught the attention of Wall Street as shares in Exact Science were up more than 30 percent as of noon.
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