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The Trump administration announced Friday it would delay the implementation of a Biden-era rule meant to restrict coverage of unproven and costly bandages known as skin substitutes.
The policy will be delayed until 2026, allowing companies to continue setting high prices for new products, taking advantage of a loophole in Medicare rules. Medicare spending on the coverings soared to over $10 billion in 2024, up from $1.6 billion in 2022.
A super PAC for President Trump’s election campaign had received a $2 million donation from Extremity Care, a leading seller of skin substitutes.
“‘Crooked Joe’ rammed through a policy that would create more suffering and death for diabetic patients on Medicare,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social in March.
More than 120 skin substitutes are on the market. They cost $5,089 per square inch on average, with the most expensive exceeding $23,000.
The Biden-era rule would have restricted Medicare coverage to a small subset of products that have been shown to be effective in randomized clinical trials. Medicare said in a statement Friday that as part of the transition to a new administration, it would be reviewing the policy.
The MASS Coalition, a group that supports the skin substitute industry, said it was “pleased” with the delay, which it said would give the Trump administration time to evaluate the policy change.
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