Community Oncology Alliance Gathers In Washington To Address Crisis In Access To Cancer Care

The Board and Officers of The Community
Oncology Alliance -- representing cancer clinics caring for over 85% of the
USA's cancer patients -- will gather with hundreds of oncologists, nurses,
and allied health professionals in Washington, DC for the First Annual
Community Oncology Conference at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel February 8-
10, 2006. The three day conference will focus on the crisis in cancer care
caused by the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) which sought to modernize
reimbursement for cancer drugs and essential cancer care services by reforming
the payment systems for oncology.


"The reform was woefully short," states Steve Coplon, Co-Executive
Director of COA. "The Medicare Modernization Act overcorrected drug
reimbursement to below cost and under corrected service reimbursement to below
cost. Essentially, cancer clinics are now subsidizing cancer care for Medicare
patients. A typical example occurred yesterday," Coplon adds. "Our clinic is
currently treating a patient with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Current
reimbursement for that care is $1,607 below our cost. The patient's
co-insurance is over $3,000. If the patient can't afford the co-insurance, we
will subsidize the treatment though the clinic will be reimbursed $4,600 below
cost. In either case clinics cannot afford to subsidize this care."


Similar situations are being reported by cancer clinics throughout the
country, and as a result many patients are being shifted to hospital
in-patient and/or outpatient settings which can result in more cost to
Medicare, unnecessary treatment delays, long waits, and lower quality care. In
some communities hospitals are not accepting these patients because cost
greatly exceeds reimbursement. A number of oncology groups are further
reporting that they can no longer treat Medicare patients -- including a group
in New Orleans, one group in Iowa, and another in Panama City, Florida. Many
other similar reports have emerged from dozens of states.


"MMA was supposed to fix a broken payment system for oncology," said
Leonard Kalman, MD, a Miami based oncologist and President of COA. "Instead
oncology reimbursement has been cut by $15.7 billion over 10 years --
adversely impacting quality and access to care. This overcorrection needs to
be fixed before the crisis gets out of hand any further."


Representatives from COA are encouraged that their message is being heard
in Washington. "COA has a voice at the table," affirms Chief Administrative
Officer, Dianne Kube. "We regularly meet with Congressional leadership, The
White House, CMS, MedPAC, and other agencies addressing reimbursement for
cancer care. In addition, we have legislation, HR 4098 -- The Community Cancer
Care Preservation Act, introduced by Congressman Jim Ramstad, Republican of
Minnesota. This legislation addresses many of the deficiencies of MMA.
Unfortunately, policy issues do not move as quickly as we would like."


"For cancer clinics like ours in Memphis this means that patients are
experiencing a regression in 'The War on Cancer,'" declares Coplon.
"Oncologists, nurses, and patients from around the country are deeply
concerned that much of the progress in early diagnosis and treatment and much
of the cost savings resulting from care in the office setting is now going to
be lost as care shifts to hospitals or does not occur at all. Some patients
have indicated that they will not go to the hospital for care. The real
tragedy is that we have come so far in this fight and now MMA is forcing us to
retreat rather than advance."


The three day gathering in Washington will lay out strategies for policy
change before the crisis exacerbates.


For additional information contact Dianne Kube, Community Oncology
Alliance, 202-756-2258.


The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) is committed to fostering and
protecting high quality, affordable and accessible cancer care for all
Americans battling cancer. COA's vision is to strongly promote initiatives
that further enhance the quality and affordability of cancer care, which along
with accessibility have been hallmarks of cancer treatment delivered in the
community setting where over 80% of Americans with cancer are treated.


Community Oncology Alliance

wwwmunityoncology

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