VOTE OF CONFIDENCE: Medicare advisers said they are confident in the benefits of Provenge, an innovative prostate cancer drug that has generated controversy because of its $93,000 price tag. Medicare will make a final decision on whether to pay for the drug in March.
HURDLE CLEARED: The positive vote is a win for the drugmaker Dendreon Corp., because most prostate cancer patients get their health coverage through Medicare, the federal program that covers 47 million elderly and disabled patients.
PUSHBACK: Some patients and politicians have protested Medicare’s review of the drug. They say the government should automatically pay for the drug because it already has been declared safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration.
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