Interpace Diagnostics Announces Continued Medicare Coverage for PancraGEN Pancreatic Cyst Risk Classifier Test

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- PDI, Inc. (NASDAQ: PDII) subsidiary, Interpace Diagnostics, announced that Novitas Solutions, Inc., the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Interpace Diagnostics, has updated its Local Coverage Determination (LCD) for PancraGEN™. The PancraGEN test utilizes the PathFinderTG(®) platform. The original coverage issued on November 5(th), 2010 provided "Coverage with Appropriateness Development," which required the Company to routinely present updated data to further validate the test's effectiveness. The new policy no longer includes this condition for coverage and is effective December 31(st), 2015 and ensures continued coverage of PancraGEN for Medicare eligible patients.

This updated coverage was achieved due to the increasing body of evidence including the publication of the results of the pivotal PancraGEN 492 patient multicenter National Pancreatic Cyst registry clinical validation study in the February 2015 issue of Endoscopy.(i) The study concluded that PancraGEN is 90% accurate at predicting benign and malignant disease in patients with pancreatic cysts, providing important insights into patients' likelihood of developing pancreatic cancer.

Medicare is a major coverage provider for the pancreatic disease market as the incidence of pancreatic cysts is prominent in the over-65 year old population. The Medicare reimbursement rate is expected to remain at its current level of $3,100.

According to Nancy Lurker, CEO of PDI, Inc., "This coverage policy issued by Novitas is another demonstration of the increasing acceptance of the clinical utility of PancraGEN in identifying those patients with pancreatic cysts who truly need surgical intervention. Reducing the number of patients who unnecessarily undergo a highly invasive surgical procedure is consistent with our Company's mission to improve patient outcomes."

Keywords for this news article include: Medicare, PDI Inc., Pancreas, Health Policy, Gastroenterology.

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