NEW YORK, June 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Medicsight PLC, a subsidiary of MGT Capital Investments, Inc. (NYSE Amex: MGT) and an industry leader in the development of Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) and image analysis software, which assists radiologists in the early detection of disease, comments on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) decision not to reimburse virtual colonoscopy (CT colonography or CTC) for the routine colon cancer screening of Medicare patients in the U.S.
The CMS decision has no material financial impact to Medicsight and only affects 12% of the eligible screening population in the United States. CTC continues to be reimbursed by Medicare for diagnostic procedures under certain conditions. Furthermore, a significant number (over 50 million) of the eligible screening population will have private insurance coverage that is likely to provide for CTC screening. Despite Medicare's decision, 28 US States (and growing) currently mandate coverage for colorectal cancer screening, most adopting the American Cancer Society (ACS) standards which include use of CTC.
A number of private payers have already started to offer CTC as a 'covered benefit' in their insurance policies and those payers, including Wellpoint/Anthem, Cigna and several Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, representing approximately 50 million covered patients. There are projected to be 65 million U.S. residents aged between 50-64 by 2015. Currently 80% of this age group currently has private insurance coverage according to Kaiser Permanente, a leading US health insurance provider.
Allan Rowley, Chief Executive Officer of Medicsight, commented: 'The Company is excited about the enormous potential to improve colorectal screening compliance with the use of screening CTC and has already begun working with various groups to support coverage among non-Medicare payers.'
Perry J. Pickhardt, MD., Associate Professor of Radiology at University of Wisconsin, suggested: 'To deny coverage for Medicare beneficiaries of a potentially life-saving test that is better, safer, more convenient and less costly than invasive colonoscopy is clearly a misguided decision that should ultimately be reversed by legislative correction.'
Following the CMS decision, Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-Texas), commented, 'There is clear evidence that when insurance reimbursement is available for virtual colonoscopies, more people are screened for colorectal cancer. Less than half of those who should be screened receive a colonoscopy.
