FILE - In this May 15, 2012 file photo, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks in Bethesda, Md. Medicare, overseen by Sebelius' department, is coming under scrutiny in the meningitis outbreak that has rekindled doubts about the safety of the nation’s drug supply. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
APNewsBreak: Questions for Medicare in outbreak
FILE - In this May 15, 2012 file photo, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks in Bethesda, Md. Medicare, overseen by Sebelius' department, is coming under scrutiny in the meningitis outbreak that has rekindled doubts about the safety of the nation’s drug supply. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
Associated Press /
October 19, 2012
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‘‘Compounded drugs are not considered interchangeable with FDA-approved products,’’ said an information bulletin at the time from Noridian, a major Medicare payment contractor. ‘‘The absence of testing for safety and effectiveness has the potential of putting a patient at increased risk of injury, illness or death.’’
Michael Carome, deputy director of Public Citizen’s health research group, says Medicare’s policy on compounded drugs seems ‘‘internally contradictory.’’
‘‘They do appear to have a policy for which the default setting is that Medicare does not cover drugs that have not been approved by the FDA,’’ said Carome. ‘‘That essentially applies to many, if not all, drugs made by compounding pharmacies.’’
Medicare’s defenders say the agency may be reluctant to act for a number of reasons. Cutting off compounding pharmacies could aggravate drug shortages. Also it could open Medicare to a political counterattack from industry, even charges of rationing.
But Carome, a kidney specialist who once served in an HHS regulatory office, says the alternative is that compounding will continue with little federal oversight and recurring outbreaks.
If Medicare had expanded its compounding crackdown beyond just lung disease medications, ‘‘that might have prevented the widespread use of these drugs,’’ Carome said. ‘‘Without coverage, things don’t get used.’’
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