Genomic Health says Medicare to cover cancer test
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Genomic Health Inc. said on Friday that Medicare has agreed to cover the company’s test for determining whether a woman with early breast cancer is likely to be helped by chemotherapy, sending the company’s shares up as much as 35 percent.
Genomic rose $2.46, or 25 percent, to $12.41 on Nasdaq at mid-afternoon.
Genomic Health said National Heritage Insurance Co., the contractor that administers Medicare programs in California, has established a positive coverage policy for the Oncotype DX breast cancer test.
All Medicare claims for the test are currently billed through NHIC because the test is conducted by Genomic Health in its Redwood City, California, clinical reference laboratory.
The coverage is scheduled to become effective for claims for services performed on or after Feb. 27, the company said.
The $3,400 test, launched in 2004, was used by about 5,000 patients in the first nine months of last year, compared with 500 in its first year on the market, Chief Executive Randy Scott said earlier this week.
The 125,000 women diagnosed each year with estrogen-sensitive tumors whose cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes are candidates for using the test, which can identify which tumors are likely to recur after surgery and treatment with hormonal drugs.
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