Reply to "Baby Seth gets his miracle."

quote:

Marcus Barlow, a spokesman with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, said Wednesday he is aware of the law cited by Flint, but the FSSA is following a more recent law that "allows a state to place appropriate limits on services." He said Indiana has done this with experimental procedures in its administrative code. He said the procedure would not be covered by the state's insurance plan and the procedure has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Barlow also said that Duke University Medical Center, where the procedure must be performed, also considers the procedure experimental, citing a news release from the facility.

Dr. M. Louise Markert, the only doctor in the country who performs the thymus transplant, said Wednesday the procedure is considered experimental, but because there is so much data on the procedure, other states have approved Medicaid coverage after the initial decision has been appealed.

According to her physician biography at dukehealth.org, 60 transplants have been performed with 43 successes, a 73 percent success rate.

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/l...de-5e2a1854a460.html