Does Medicare cover routine chemo drugs like Xeloda and Gemcitibine

Mary Anne... tumor marker test are still a debate for alot of insurance companies.  Some will authorize some won't.  Some will request additional justification before okaying.  Personally, your scans CT, MRI, Bonescan are your best tools for evaluating progression or non-progression.  Tumor marker tests are really still considered still in research stage due to there is an issuse of false positive and negative results and it is different on different people.  Your weekly CBC lavendar/with Diff, and metabolics you should not have a problem with.  An ocassional CEA is needed as well.  I have not personally dealt with medicare but know of many relatives who have not had anthing bad to say that I can remember.  In fact alot of hospitals will except  medicare for payment in full if you meet the low income quaifications criteria. Or the co pay would be extremely low.  Not to be nosey, but if Joe served in the military he could very easily change primary care doctors to a VA Hospital and then get treatment through VA oncology and possibally save alot on meds and outpatient care.  Feel free to e-mail me direct if you would like more infor on this.  You don't have to be a twenty year veteran to recieve medical services through VA.  My uncle spent two years in the Army and uses VA for some out patient and prescription fills. I don't know if I answered anything Mary Anne I guess I'm more of thinking out loud.

God Bless,
Jeff G.

P.S.  I guess I would say anyone fighting this disease and has served in the military for any lenght of time or a period of time when there were conflicts/wars going on should consider checking out qualifications for utilizing a VA medical facility.  Insurance or no Insurance. They have modernized their business side to aline more with private sector.  Couple decades ago it was almost totally free.  Those days are gone.

Thanks for your answers.  Jeff, Joe never served in the military becasue he had a heart murmur from Rheumatic Fever as a kid.  So vets is out.  The oncologist said the IV cehmo would be covered but probably not the xeloda.  Has anyone on Medicare been on xeloda and was it covered?  We have checked with Walgreens and joined their no insurance discount plan but now they think we can't be on that if we have Medicare because both are federally funded and one would cancel out the other.  We do not have the Medicare prescription coverage.  Xeloda is expensive but not nearly as bad as the IPT treatments were. 
Any other suggestions would be appreciated.  Thanks so much.  Mary Anne