Does Medicare Pay for Stem Cell Therapy? Let’s find it out!
When considered medically necessary by a doctor, Medicare can help cover bone marrow transplantations and other stem cell therapies.
Medicare covers part of some kinds of stem cell procedures. However, treatment must be medically appropriate, and FDA approval must be given for the operation. Medicare Part A Information and Signup will help offset hospitals’ expenses, and Medicare Part B Information and Signup will cover a portion of the outpatients’ cost. The only permitted therapies are those composed of stem cells that make up blood.
Stem cell therapy can restore the average production and blood formation in a person whose body has lost this function.
This article addresses stem cell therapy, examines the coverage and expenditures of each Medicare portion.
What Is Stem Cell Therapy?
Stem cells are a type of regenerative medicine as a therapeutic instrument. You can use it to regrow or restore damaged tissues and organs and treat some medical conditions like cancer or heart disease.
Stem cell therapy, also known as regenerative medicine, facilitates the repair response to disease.
Medicare provides two types of stem cell therapy: allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) and autologous stem cell transplant (AuSCT).
Although researchers are exploring several other stem cell therapy methods, the only existing FDA-approved therapies are for tumors, blood disorders, and immune system disorders.
HSCT (Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant)
HSCT (Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation) aims to “reboot” the transplantation process.
Hematopoietic (blood cell-producing) stem cells originate from a person’s own (“autologous”) bone marrow or blood. Chemotherapy can kill the organism’s immune cells —the immune system responsible for destroying the brain and spinal cord in MS.
The FDA has already authorized the drugs and processes used in HSCT. Also, Publication of the findings of an HSCT therapy’s well-controlled clinical trials would promote greater medical community acceptance and use.
AuSCT (Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation)
Intensive treatment and autologous stem cell transplantation (AuSCT) has achieved superior results in younger patients (o60 years) with Stage II/III multiple myeloma (MM) relative to Stage II/III multiple myeloma (MM) in a randomized trial.
On November 23, 2000, HCFA internally created a formal application for coverage to re-examine the issue of age as a predictor of the outcome of treatment and whether it is an acceptable restriction for patients with multiple myeloma in Medicare’s AuSCT coverage policy. The Agency has invited stakeholders to send relevant information on this subject. Information was unable to reach the department.
Staff in the Coverage and Research Department re-examined data for patients with multiple myeloma from the previous AuSCT coverage study.
Cost of Stem Cell Therapy
It’s important to note that treatments for stem cells are still very costly. Based on your general health, a doctor can prescribe various regimens in an inpatient setting and raise overall costs.
In recent years, stem cell therapies have become very common, as individuals pursue the latest alternative treatments for their many conditions. Moreover, the cost of stem cell therapy can be anywhere from $5000 to $50,000. Before committing themselves financially to treatment, patients must do their homework and ask as many questions as they can.
Before the patient gets the care, it associates heavy costs with time and labor at any step of the stem cell therapy phase.
Bottom Line
Conclusively, Medicare also does not include, in the United States or abroad, stem cell therapy. According to Medicare, “Due to the experimental nature of most stem cell therapies, coverage through Medicare insurance for treatment with stem cell therapy is limited.” In several different fields of health and medical science, stem cell transplantation has promise. Stem cell therapy has yet to achieve regulatory approval and is still in progress.
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