Medicare to Cover Use of tPA for Stroke - August 2005

5 August 2005 – Medicare has announced that it will soon begin reimbursing hospitals for the specific administration of the clot-dissolving drug tissue plasminogen activator (tPA, Genentech) to ischemic stroke patients.  According to the Wall Street Journal, “Until now, Medicare has paid hospitals a flat rate of about $5,700 per case of stroke, regardless of whether the clot-dissolving agent was used.”  In the new framework, Medicare will pay hospitals a base rate of about $6,000 more per case if they use tPA.