Medicare Expands Coverage For Home Blood Testing Of Prothrombin Time International Normalized Ratio

Home testing with physician direction on anti-coagulation management....BD

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today expanded Medicare coverage for home blood testing of prothrombin time (PT) International Normalized Ratio (INR) to include beneficiaries who are using the drug warfarin, an anticoagulant (blood thinner) medication, for chronic atrial fibrillation or venous thromboembolism.
Medicare's prior policy only provided home test coverage for Medicare patients with mechanical heart valves who are on warfarin. Patients use PT/INR blood testing to determine how well their anticoagulant medicine is working to prevent blood clots. PT measures the speed of blood coagulation, while INR provides a way to standardize such measurement. Tests can be performed at home, as long as the patient works with his or her health care provider as part of an anticoagulation management program.

Medicare Expands Coverage For Home Blood Testing Of Prothrombin Time International Normalized Ratio