Medicare Doesn’t Cover Prostate Cancer Laser Treatment

Aetna Health Inc. properly denied payment for a laser ablation procedure used to treat a prostate cancer patient covered under a Medicare Advantage plan, a federal magistrate judge ruled.

Substantial evidence supported the private insurer’s conclusion that Medicare rules governing the plan didn’t require coverage because the treatment was experimental, Magistrate Judge John C. Nivison said Jan. 4.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine should affirm a U.S. Health and Human Services Department decision upholding Aetna’s decision, Nivison recommended.

Carl McCue underwent a laser ablation procedure to remove a cancerous or precancerous lesion from his prostate. Aetna ...