To further influence the regulatory process, ASTRO’s government relations team is reaching out to congressional champions to contact CMS and demand changes that finally correct the RO Model and hold radiation oncology harmless from fee schedule payment shifts unrelated to radiation oncology. We’re working closely with partners in the House of Medicine on official comment letters to influence CMS. ASTRO already has secured numerous media reports highlighting for Biden Administration leadership the severity and impact of the payment cuts, and more public relations outreach is in the works.ĪSTRO’s health policy team is engaged in extensive policy and data analysis to identify changes that must be made to the RO Model and fee schedule to protect access to radiation therapy. In July, ASTRO sent a strong letter to President Biden and his senior staff and is following up with high-level meetings on the collective threats of the RO Model and fee schedule cuts. It’s important that members know some of the key features of that strategy so they can actively participate in stopping the cuts.ĪSTRO is directly engaging President Biden and White House officials, with the goal of applying significant pressure on CMS to reverse course. The multipronged advocacy strategy will be in high gear through the end of the year and likely beyond. ASTRO’s Health Policy Council and Government Relations Council leadership, in concert with the ASTRO Board of Directors, is focused on dramatically scaling back the cuts stemming from both the fee schedule and RO Model and has developed an advocacy plan of action. Combined, the constant, year-after-year threats to clinics’ financial viability and out of control administrative burden will further contribute to burnout among physician staff.ĪSTRO is sounding the alarm on the impact these cuts will have on cancer patient care. Meanwhile, the Radiation Oncology Model (RO Model) discount factor payment cuts are out of step with other alternative payment models and will put practices that are required to participate in jeopardy. This follows on radiation oncology revenues dropping by 8% in 2020, according to an American Medical Association analysis, as clinics now try to recover while treating patients with more advanced disease that require more complex and costly treatments. The cuts proposed for 2022 for radiation oncology are among the highest of any medical specialty, with some key services dropping by as much as 22%. If the Physician Fee Schedule cuts are finalized, payments to radiation oncology will have plummeted by 25% since 2012. ASTRO is disturbed that practices treating rural and underserved populations will be hit hardest, limiting their ability to provide critical services to their patients and possibly forcing patients to travel long distances for treatment. Instead, these excessive cuts will jeopardize cancer patients’ ability to receive state-of-the-art care close to home. ASTRO believes these cuts contradict the president’s anti-cancer goals as well as initiatives to advance health equity. Medicare is planning a draconian double whammy for radiation oncology payments starting in 2022, with significant payment cuts totaling $300 million under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule ($140 million) and Radiation Oncology Model ($160 million). ASTRO was prepared for the possibility of Medicare payment cuts and is rolling out a comprehensive advocacy strategy to combat these flawed policies. Sadly, three months later, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled two policy proposals that threaten to end radiation oncology as we know it. On April 28, 2021, President Joe Biden declared in his State of the Union address a commitment to “end cancer as we know it,” a goal ASTRO strongly supports. By William Hartsell, MD, FASTRO, Chair, ASTRO Health Policy Council and Howard Sandler, MD, MS, FASTRO, Chair, ASTRO Government Relations Council
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |