The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) encouraged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to consider diagnostic endpoints as the basis for its coverage of beta amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) imaging despite Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC)’s determination that there is not adequate evidence that the technology improves health outcomes. MITA and other witnesses presented evidence of beta amyloid PET imaging’s clinical performance in patients with signs of cognitive dysfunction to a MEDCAC advisory panel in support of a positive coverage decision.
“Thanks to PET imaging procedures, diseases that once eluded the medical community can now be better understood and detected earlier than ever before, which gives us hope of eventually finding an effective treatment,” said Gail Rodriguez, executive director of MITA. “The data and evidence presented to MEDCAC clearly demonstrate the clinical benefits of beta amyloid PET imaging for patients with signs of cognitive dysfunction. MITA urges CMS to consider diagnostic endpoints – not therapeutic ones – when reviewing the evidence and making its coverage decision.”
