Drugmakers Eye Clinical Trial Diversity Despite Medicaid Gaps

Oncologist Melissa Dillmon sees a lot of poor patients at her rural Georgia cancer center who could benefit from cutting-edge therapies. But Medicaid won’t automatically cover doctor’s appointments or X-rays that are associated with clinical trials, leaving drug companies scrambling to fill the gaps.

Medicaid, the government insurance program for low-income people, doesn’t require coverage of routine items and services that are attached to clinical trials. That leaves Medicaid patients—who are disproportionately women and minorities—out of most clinical trials at a time when drug companies and federal regulators are giving closer scrutiny to how medications and treatments affect diverse populations. ...