For more information about insurance coverage of clinical trial costs, see this feature's main page: States That Require Health Plans to Cover Patient Care Costs in Clinical Trials.

Agreement: Bill 17-469 (D.C. Law 17-166) Clinical Trials Insurance Coverage Act of 2008

Effective: June 5, 2008

What clinical trials are covered?

Clinical trials undertaken for prevention, early detection, treatment, or monitoring of cancer and approved or funded in full or in part by one of the following:

• National Institutes of Health or one of its cooperative groups or centers
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Agency for Health Care Research and Quality
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• U.S. Department of Defense
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• U.S. Department of Energy
• A nongovernmental research entity that has been awarded a National Cancer Institute support grant

Who is required to pay?

All health insurers in the District of Columbia, including managed care organizations, Medicaid, and public employee health plans.

Other key provisions:

Routine patient care costs shall not include:

• tests or measurements conducted primarily for the purpose of the clinical trial involved
• services or products provided solely for data collection and analysis purposes
• services or products customarily provided free of charge to trial participants by the research sponsors