NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Exact Sciences today announced that physicians network MDVIP will make Exact's ColoGuard colorectal cancer screening test available to its affiliated nationwide network of more than 750 primary care physicians.
In a statement, MDVIP Chief Medical Officer Andrea Klemes said that adoption of ColoGuard "will allow our patients who are 50 years and older and at average risk for colorectal cancer an easy-to-use screening test which they can do in the privacy of their own home."
In August, Exact Sciences simultaneously received US Food and Drug Administration approval for Cologuard and a proposed National Coverage Determination from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The test is the first FDA-approved and Medicare-reimbursed non-invasive screening test for colorectal cancer that analyzes both stool-based DNA and blood biomarkers to detect cancer and precancer. CMS's final NCD this month deemed Cologuard to have sufficient evidence for coverage as a screening test for asymptomatic, average-risk beneficiaries aged 50 to 85 years, and set reimbursement at $502.
Prior to the finalized NCD, Exact Sciences announced that Group Health Cooperative would be the first health plan in Wisconsin to offer its patients Cologuard. In August, Mayo Clinic signed on as the first health system to adopt the test.