CMS Officially Recognizes NCCN Drugs & Biologics Compendium™

NCCN is pleased to announce that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has recognized the NCCN Drugs & Biologics Compendium™ as a mandated reference for establishment of coverage policy and coverage decisions regarding the use of drugs and biologics in cancer care.

The NCCN Compendium will be used by CMS for national coverage determinations and by intermediaries and carriers for locoregional determinations. The major application will be in determinations about coverage for the use of drugs and biologics in oncology beyond the FDA approved indication.

This recognition comes on the heels of a recent announcement that UnitedHealthcare would base its coverage for chemotherapy drugs used in outpatient settings on the NCCN Drugs and Biologics Compendium™. Recognition from CMS, the nation’s largest health insurer, is another positive outcome of adapting and transcribing the recommendations from the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology™ to a compendium format.

The NCCN Drugs & Biologics Compendium™ provides sound, scientific, evaluative information to the oncology community in order to inform and improve decision-making and outcomes.