News Details
NCCN and UnitedHealthcare Collaboration Benefits Patients
UNITEDHEALTHCARE BECOMES FIRST COMPANY TO BASE CHEMOTHERAPY DRUG COVERAGE ON NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE CANCER NETWORK COMPENDIUM
- NCCN Compendium provides independent source for chemotherapy coverage decisions
- Reflects UnitedHealthcare's commitment to evidence-based medicine by partnering with leading medical societies and physician organizations
MINNEAPOLIS – (Jan. 16, 2008) – UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, announced that, effective March 15, it will base its benefit coverage for chemotherapy drugs used in outpatient settings on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Drugs and Biologics Compendium.
The NCCN, an alliance of 21 of the nation's leading cancer centers, is an authoritative source of information to help patients and health professionals make informed decisions about cancer care. The NCCN's compendium recommends drugs and biologics for the major types of FDA-approved disease indications and specific NCCN panel recommendations.
The development of NCCN information is based on the independent evaluation of available scientific evidence integrated with the expert judgment of leading clinicians. Compendium recommendations are derived from the NCCN Guidelines™, a widely-used source of information recognized as the standard of care for oncology in the United States.
Bill McGivney, Ph.D., NCCN CEO, said: "We are pleased that UnitedHealthcare is the first company to choose the NCCN's compendium as the basis for its guidelines in reimbursing for chemotherapy drugs administered in an outpatient setting. The compendium is developed based on the explicit evaluation of available scientific evidence integrated with the expert judgment of multidisciplinary panels of expert physicians from NCCN member institutions. The breadth and scope of this collaborative effort represents a significant advance beyond any previously developed guidelines. As a result, the NCCN guidelines have become the most widely used in oncology practice."
Previously, UnitedHealthcare based its chemotherapy-drug policies on a range of medical literature resources, which, according to Lee Newcomer, M.D., UnitedHealthcare's senior vice president, oncology, has been standard in the industry.
The NCCN Drugs and Biologics Compendium guidelines recommend the most appropriate therapy based on clinical evidence and the consensus of leading academic cancer centers. They suggest the correct diagnostic evaluation, such as scans, X-rays and lab tests, optimal therapy – drug, X-ray or surgery – as well as appropriate follow-up tests.
"UnitedHealthcare is the first national health plan to incorporate National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines into our chemotherapy-drug benefit," said Dr. Newcomer. "Our collaboration with NCCN reflects UnitedHealthcare's commitment to partner closely with the nation's leading independent medical societies and physician organizations in order to ensure our members receive quality, evidence-based care.
"This new policy provides clinicians, patients and our customers with a respected, independent reference source for use in making chemotherapy coverage decisions," Dr. Newcomer added. "It is one of several programs launched after UnitedHealthcare established a dedicated oncology team in 2005 to improve the quality of oncology care for our members. NCCN guidelines are a trusted source of treatment recommendations, and we value the fact that they are publicly available for both physicians and patients."
UnitedHealthcare will update its chemotherapy-drug policies in conjunction with monthly updates made by the NCCN to its compendium. UnitedHealthcare is currently communicating this change in drug policy regarding use of the compendium to its network of physicians. Complete information is available on the company's physician portal at www.unitedhealthcareonline.com.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare (www.unitedhealthcare.com) provides a full spectrum of consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services. The company organizes access to quality, affordable health care services on behalf of more than 26 million individual consumers, contracting directly with more than 550,000 physicians and care professionals and 4,800 hospitals nationwide to offer them broad, convenient access to services nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.