Medicare Part B expands coverage for warfarin patients monitoring clotting time at home

Medicare Part B will now pay for meter training and equipment and supplies for all long-term warfarin users who monitor their prothrombin time at home with portable handheld meters. This expansion opens the door to increased patient access to testing, which could lead to better outcomes. Medicare previously reimbursed these expenses only for patient self-testers who had mechanical heart valves. The new coverage expands to include those on anticoagulant medication with chronic atrial fibrillation and venous thromboembolism. Portable, handheld prothombin time (PT/INR) meters, like the CoaguChek XS System for Patient Self-Testing, enable patients to test their clotting time at home in about a minute, using a small drop of blood from a simple fingerstick.