Medicare to reimburse for clinical trials

President Clinton today was to issue an Executive Memorandum directing Medicare to "immediately begin to explicitly reimburse providers for the cost of routine patient care associated with participation in clinical trials, and to take additional action to promote the participation of Medicare beneficiaries in clinical trials for all diseases," the White House announced.

Current Medicare reimbursement policies discourage seniors from participating in clinical trials because they do not guarantee payment for care associated with a study. As a result, only about 1 percent of senior citizens participate in clinical trials, according to the White House. ...