There is a fear that by taking the unusual step of making a National Coverage Assessment (NCA) of Provenge, Medicare is looking to avoid paying for Provenge at all.
Posterity may indeed one day thank the president for taking America a giant step closer to entrenching the principle of universal health coverage that other rich countries take for granted.
And that's why my budget takes a first big step towards comprehensive health care reform that will reduce costs, improve care and ensure that everyone who works has coverage they can afford.