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The rules say that plans must pay for a medical service or item if regular Medicare would pay for it in this case. 
You can find this rule at 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 422.101. 
 
The rules say that medically necessary services are those that are reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or 
treatment of an illness or injury. Medically necessary services include services to improve the functioning of a 
malformed body member. You can find this rule in the Social Security Act, Section 1862(a)(1)(A). 
 
The rules say that services that are not medically necessary are not covered. The rules also say that 
experimental and investigational devices are not covered. You can find this rule at 42 CFR Sections 411.15 and 
411.15(o). 
 
The rules say that molecular pathology procedures (Tier 1 and Tier 2) may be eligible for coverage when ALL 
of the following criteria are met: 
 Alternative laboratory or clinical tests to definitively diagnose the disorder/identify the condition are 
unavailable or results are clearly equivocal; AND 
 Availability of a clinically valid test, based on published peer reviewed medical literature; AND  
 Testing assay(s) are Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved/cleared or if LDT (lab developed 
test) or LDT protocol or FDA modified test(s) the laboratory documentation should support assay(s) 
analytical validity and clinical utility; AND  
 Results of the testing must directly impact treatment or management of the beneficiary; AND  
 For testing panels, including but not limited to, multiple genes or multiple conditions, and in cases 
where a tiered approach/method is clinically available, testing would be covered ONLY for the number 
of genes or test that are reasonable and necessary to establish a diagnosis; AND  
 Individual has not previously received genetic testing for the disease/condition. (In general, diagnostic 
genetic testing for a disease should be performed once in a lifetime.) 
You can find this rule in Local Coverage Determination (LCD) Molecular Pathology Procedures L34519. The rules say that Pharmacogenetics testing will be considered medically reasonable and necessary if: 
1. The patient has a condition where clinical evaluation has determined the need for a medication that has 
a known gene-drug interaction(s) for which the test results would directly impact the drug management 
of the patients condition; AND 
2. The test meets evidence standards for genetic testing as evaluated by a scientific, transparent, peer-
reviewed process and determined to demonstrate actionability in clinical decision making by CPIC 
guideline level A or B; or is listed in the FDA table of known gene-drug interactions where data support 
therapeutic recommendations or a potential impact on safety or response or the FDA label; 
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/science-and-research-drugs/table-pharmacogenomic-biomarkers-drug-
labeling ; https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/precision-medicine/table-pharmacogenetic-associations   
You can find this information in Local Coverage Determination (LCD) Pharmacogenomics Testing L39073. 
If you want to read these Medicare rules, you can go to this website www.medicareappeal.com. 
 
The Plan contract says that the Plan covers items and services in accordance with Medicare rules.