July 29, 2010: CMS solicits proposals for Medicare Imaging Demonstration project
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that it is soliciting proposals for participation in a Medicare Imaging Demonstration (MID) authorized by section 135(b) of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act... Read More →

July 29, 2010: Dendreon’s Provenge Questioned in NEJM
The ability of Dendreon’s(DNDN) Provenge to prolong the survival of prostate cancer patients without having any measurable effect on the tumor is called “surprising” and “hard to understand” in an editorial published Wednesday... Read More →

July 29, 2010: End-Of-Life Savings: The ‘Fool’s Gold’ Of Reform?
Just over 1 in 4 dollars spent by the Medicare program last year was spent on someone who was in their last year of their life.  Read More →

July 29, 2010: Letting Go
Sara Thomas Monopoli was pregnant with her first child when her doctors learned that she was going to die.  Read More →

July 29, 2010: AMERICA’S NEW HEALTH CARE SYSTEM REVEALED
Four months after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously declared “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it,” a congressional panel has released the first chart illustrating the 2,801 page health care law President Obama signed... Read More →

Tool to Estimate 2011 Medicare Fee Schedule Impact
As you know, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have issued the preliminary rule on the 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Due to the complexity of the changes in the fee schedule, COA will be providing additional information.... Read More →

Community Cancer Clinic Closings on the Rise
COA has compiled a database from several sources that now tracks adverse impacts on community oncology practices due to declining and unrealistic cuts to Medicare reimbursement for cancer care. We will be providing more information on these adverse impacts... Read More →

Message from New COA President, David Eagle, MD
I am very pleased to announce that the Board of Directors of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) has elected David Eagle, MD to serve as President. Dr. Eagle, who previously served as Vice President of COA, is an oncologist from North Carolina. Additionally,... Read More →

CMS Releases Medicare Claims with 21.3% Cut……………..
The semi-good news is that after failing to move the larger tax extenders bill, the Senate passed a bill with a 6-month patch to the sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). The bad news is that this will have to go back to the House for passage. However, the House... Read More →

SGR Patch Now Only 6 Months… Maybe?
The attempt to move the extenders/jobs bill containing the 19-month patch to the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) failed in the Senate yesterday. The plan is to scale back the bill and attempt to move it again. The scaled-back version contains only... Read More →

Medicare Claims to be Held Through Thursday, 6/17
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this morning announced that it will continue to hold Medicare claims through Thursday, 6/17. This move anticipates that Congress will act this week in passing the tax extenders bill, which contains... Read More →

SGR Update – Cut Effective Next Tuesday
The Senate is now working on the tax extenders bill, which contains the patch to the already-live 21.3% Medicare fee cut. As COA related, the House basically split this bill in two pieces, and passed both before the Memorial Day recess. The Senate now... Read More →

Register TODAY For June 23rd Capitol Hill Day
Go to the COA website at www.communityoncology.org to register. Please contact Dee Shook at dshook@COAcancer.org to answer any questions.  We are now scheduling member visits and it is important for all coming to Washington, DC to register. The last... Read More →

Next Steps to Patching the Medicare SGR Cut?
Just before the House left for a week-long recess, Representatives passed a bill containing a 19-month patch to the 21.3% Medicare payment cut effective today (6/1). Unfortunately, the Senate had already left town so the fee cut technically is effective... Read More →

SGR Follow-up; Threats to Imaging & Radiation
SGR Update Late last night the House leadership decided to split the tax extenders bill into two bills. One of the bills contains a 19-month patch to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) to avert the looming Medicare 21.3% payment cut. The House just passed... Read More →

Brief SGR Update
As of the writing of this alert, the House did not have the votes to pass the tax extenders bill, which contained a 19-month patch to the sustainable growth rate (SGR). Although there is inside talk of passing a 1-month patch, it is doubtful if this could... Read More →

Register TODAY for Cancer Care Hill Day on June 23rd!
On June 23, 2010, community oncology will be coming to Capitol Hill. Join with your fellow oncologists, oncology nurses, staff, and administrators who will accompany patients, caregivers, and survivors in delivering a simple message — Stop Cancer Care... Read More →

Brief SGR Update
We are providing these updates because of the concern expressed by many with the looming Medicare fee cut effective 6/1.  Here is the plan in the Congress as of today. A 3 1/2 year patch to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) will be included in H.R. 4213,... Read More →

SGR Update on Looming Medicare Fee Cut
The leadership of the House and Senate have been working on a patch to the looming Medicare physician fee cut of 21.2% effective June 1, 2010. The plan being discussed would patch the sustainable growth rate (SGR) for 5 years, with slight annual increases... Read More →

Impact of Healthcare Reform on Community Cancer Care Practice
COA recently hosted a webinar that reviewed the new health care reform law from the perspective of its impact on community oncology. A recording of the webinar, as well as a copy of the slides, are available on the COA website at http://www.communityoncology.org... Read More →

Oral Oncolytics Study sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, Millennium Pharmaceuticals and other pharmaceutical sponsors
Recently, we sponsored an important report about the barriers to access many patients experience when trying to receive oral oncolytics, and how best to address those challenges. It revealed a lot of different views and ideas from many corners of the oncology community. Read More →

Impact of Health Care Reform on Your Practice – COA Webinar on 4/29
The recently passed health care reform bill will take years to be implemented. That said, there are provisions already in effect that you need to understand. Moreover, there are provisions that will become effective within the next few years that you... Read More →

Join the Cancer Community on Capitol Hill on June 23rd.
Tired of the cuts to cancer care? Frustrated by Congress’ inability to fix the failed Medicare payment system? Even more importantly, are you upset about the adverse impact upon the care to cancer patients resulting from the mounting pressures on the... Read More →

Medicare SGR Patch Signed Into Law
We have tried to keep everyone in the community current on the ins and outs of the patch to the 21.2% Medicare fee cut via emails and posts on the COA website. We understand that there is a great deal of confusion about this situation and serious concern... Read More →

SGR and Petition Update
Congress returns to take up legislation to extend the patch to the Medicare 21.2% fee cut. Politics has left this legislation up in the air, unfortunately. Below is a ranking by state of the Stop Cancer Care Cuts petition signers. The petition is closing... Read More →

45,000+ Sign Stop Cancer Care Cuts Petition
Help turn 45,000 Stop Cancer Care Cuts petition signers into 100,000! It is imperative that community oncology send a clear message of Stop Cancer Care Cuts in this increasingly charged election year. Come to Capitol Hill on June 23rd to meet with... Read More →

SGR Theater of the Absurd
As you know, once again Congress has failed to avert a patch to the Medicare 21.2% payment cut. And, once again, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is holding claims (dated as of April 1st) for 10 business days in the hope that Congress... Read More →

March Madness Upsets and the SGR Saga Continues
The March Madness on the hardwood courts have produced some great upsets this past weekend. However, they were somewhat overshadowed by the March Madness on Capitol Hill as the House passed the Senate version of health care reform and the reconciliation... Read More →

March Madness
No, this brief update is not about the NCAA basketball tournament. It is about the March Madness happening on Capitol Hill. This Sunday the House is scheduled to vote on health care reform. One way or another, history will be made. What the House will... Read More →

“Fix Cancer Care” – COA President Dr. Cobb’s Message to Congress
Patrick Cobb, MD, President of COA and a practicing medical oncologist, delivers a message to Congress today in The Hill, a widely read congressional daily. In his opinion editorial, Memo to Congress on healthcare reform: fix Medicare first, Dr. Cobb... Read More →

NEW!!! COA Administrators’ Network Website
The COA Administrators’ Network (CAN) has launched a new, improved website. The website is designed by community oncology practice administrators for practice administrators. The CAN webmistress is Bobbi Buell, well-recognized for her expertise in all... Read More →

Bill Averting Medicare 21.2% Cut Till 10/1
The Senate is voting today on a package of unemployment and tax extenders, which also includes a patch to the Medicare 21.2% fee cut now effective April 1, 2010. This patch would avert the Medicare cut until October 1, 2010. This bill will pass the Senate... Read More →

Brief SGR Update
A Senate bill to extend the SGR patch and avert the 21.2% Medicare fee cut is being held up by one Senator. The Senate will try to pass this bill today and send it to the House for final passage. Be prepared for a potential delay in processing your... Read More →

Medicare 21.2% Payment Cut and Other Updates
There are several updates that we want to make sure you are aware of because of the impact to your practice. Medicare 21.2% Payment Cut As we reported last week, there was a 7-month patch to the 21.2% Medicare physician fee cut contained in a bipartisan... Read More →

ALERT – Politics of the 21.2% SGR Medicare Physician Fee Cut
As all community oncology practices should know, a general 21.2% Medicare physician fee cut looms on March 1, 2010 unless Congress acts to avert it. The cut was supposed to go into effect on January 1, 2010 but Congress put a 2-month patch into the defense... Read More →

Medicare “Doc Fix” Coming?
Obviously, every medical professional, not just in community oncology, is concerned about the general Medicare payment cut of 21.2% that looms on March 1, 2010. However, congressional action at the end of last week may be the prelude to addressing the... Read More →

Cancer Care in the News and Updates
There were two news pieces on cancer yesterday that both tell a story about cancer, but from very different perspectives. Katie Couric aired a report on the CBS Evening News about the progress on the War on Cancer. From a 40,000 foot perspective, it was... Read More →

Cancer Care Petition: 20,000 Have Now Signed – Sign and Forward!
The Stop Cancer Care Cuts Petition has reached the 20,000 mark.  The emails and comments coming in show a deep concern for the continuous cuts to cancer care and the impact they are already having on patient access and care. Please ask all of your colleagues... Read More →

Is Health Care Reform Dead? Where is the SGR fix?
Is health care reform dead? No. COA President Dr. Patrick Cobb and Executive Director Ted Okon have just penned an article on this for OncologySTAT. You can access it on the COA website at http://www.communityoncology.org under COA Media Center. The article... Read More →

Stop Cancer Cuts Petition Up and Running
Sign the Stop Cancer Care Cuts Petition. Over 3,000 have signed in 2 days. Most importantly, reach out to everyone you know to sign the petition. Every member of Congress, as well as every candidate, needs to hear from all concerned about cancer care... Read More →

COA Sends Comments to President Obama and Congress on Health Care Reform
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) submitted comments on health care reform legislation relating to cancer care.  In separate letters to President Obama, House Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Reid, COA President Patrick Cobb submitted a... Read More →

More on Senate Health Care Reform Bill
As you know, the Senate health care reform bill just squeaked by with enough votes this past Saturday night to start debate on the Senate floor.  As we communicated last week, this vote was expected because it would have been very difficult for any Senate... Read More →

Weekend of Health Care Reform
The Senate is scheduled to vote on Saturday night at approximately 8:00 PM EDT on a motion to proceed with debate on the health care reform bill.  The bill and summary can be found on the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) website at www.communityoncology.org... Read More →

Grassroots Outreach TODAY Needed to Congress!!!
There are two IMMEDIATE items that we ask you to contact your Representatives’ and Senators’ offices about TODAY! The first is to invite your Representatives’ health legislative staff to a Capitol Hill briefing on the Components of Care Study and... Read More →

IMMEDIATE Grassroots Outreach to Congress Needed!
There are two IMMEDIATE items that we ask you to contact your Representatives’ and Senators’ offices about TODAY! The first is to invite your Representatives’ health legislative staff to a Capitol Hill briefing on the Components of Care Study and... Read More →

COA Next Steps on Health Care Reform
Here is a quick update on health care reform and next steps from the Community Oncology Alliance (COA). Read More →

Medicare Cuts and the Impact on Your Practice
As we related on Friday afternoon, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final rule on the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.  The good news is that through the political outreach of community oncology practices, the... Read More →

The Medicare physician fee fix was not included as in the House health care reform bill.
It was introduced as a separate bill. The final rule on the Medicare fee schedule is expected out late today. The House yesterday released its final bill on health care reform, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962).  Go to the Community... Read More →

House health care reform bill released and is available on the COA website.
In a surprise move, the prompt pay solution was eliminated from the final House version. The House released its merged bill on health care reform. Go to the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) website at www.communityoncology.org under Immediate Action... Read More →

Bill to Eliminate 21.5% Cut – S. 1776
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) has introduced the Medicare Physician Fairness Act of 2009 (S. 1776) to eliminate the scheduled 21.5% cut in Medicare reimbursement to physicians. S. 1776, which has four cosponsors, would also repeal the sustainable growth... Read More →

Reach out to Representatives to Sign Letter Stopping Medicare Cuts.
As you know, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is planning severe Medicare payment cuts for cancer care effective January 1, 2010. These cuts are to services associated with drug administration, consultation services, diagnostic imaging, and radiation treatment… Read More →

Practice Administrators Meet with CMS About Cancer Care Cuts
Community oncology practice administrators from around the country recently met with CMS in Washington, DC. Below is their report on the meeting and follow-up steps. As community oncology practice administrators, we are writing to all in community oncology... Read More →

Senate and House working on passing bills that can be merged into final health care reform legislation. The next 4-8 weeks are critical.
Senate and House working on passing bills that can be merged into final health care reform legislation. The next 4-8 weeks are critical. www.communityoncology.org under Immediate Action Needed. Severe Medicare cuts planned for 1/1/2010 unless Congress... Read More →

Oncology Payment Cuts – Why Every Practice Needs to Provide Comments to CMS
As you should be aware, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is planning additional cuts to Medicare reimbursement for cancer care.  In addition to a scheduled cut of 21.5% to all physician-related services, CMS is planning to cut payments... Read More →

Statement by Dr. Patrick Cobb, president of the Community Oncology Alliance, regarding declining rates of cancer death
“The Community Oncology Alliance is encouraged by the recently released statistics from the American Cancer Society showing a decline in the number of cancer deaths in the U.S. It is important to recognize that the decreasing cancer death rates are... Read More →

Need for the Components of Care Survey
The Senate Finance Committee has proposed policy options that would severely cut Medicare payments for cancer care services. As CMS looks to recalculate payments for all medical services from Medicare, it too will be relying on a published report of a... Read More →

The Community Oncology Alliance Applauds Governor Sebelius’ Appointment as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) is pleased with the Senate’s confirmation of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). “COA congratulates Secretary Sebelius on her appointment by President Obama,” said Dr.... Read More →

View from Capitol Hill on Healthcare Reform and Implications for Community Oncology, Part II
A top priority of the Congress and the Obama Administration is fundamentally reforming the healthcare delivery process. Some in the healthcare community look back at the failed attempts of President Clinton and others before him to change healthcare and... Read More →

Update on H.R. 1392 — Prompt Pay Correction Bill
Here is a brief update on legislation that would fix the prompt pay problem that artificially reduces any drug reimbursement based on Average Sales Price (ASP). There are now 16 cosponsors of H.R. 1392, the prompt pay correction bill in the House. (A... Read More →

H.R. 1392 Introduced to Correct ASP Problem
House Bill to Improve Accuracy of Medicare Reimbursement Introduced: Members of Congress Seek to Stem Growing Healthcare Coverage Shortfalls, Community Oncology Alliance Advocates for Swift Passage of Bill WASHINGTON, March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/... Read More →

Healthcare Reform is Here!
Healthcare reform has already started. How fast it will move and how substantial the changes will be are questions that cannot be answered at this time. In part, the speed and magnitude will depend on the state of the economy. However, and it is worth... Read More →

Healthcare Reform and Community Oncology
As posted previously, healthcare reform has already started with the passage of the economic stimulus bill. Approximately 16% of the bill was related to healthcare spending and, specifically, the funding for comparative effectiveness research was the... Read More →

Stimulus Bill and Healthcare Reform
As reported extensively in the press, earlier this week President Obama signed into law the stimulus bill (H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009). It is important to understand that the bill, which has been the subject of debate regarding... Read More →

CRISIS IN CANCER CARE: ONCOLOGISTS CALL ON CONGRESS AND THE ADMINISTRATION TO ACT NOW
COA Seeks to Lead Solution to Shortfalls in Medicare Reimbursement Threatening Community-Based Care WASHINGTON, DC February 9, 2009 – The board of directors of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) issued a resolution today urging the leadership of... Read More →

Message from new COA President, Patrick Cobb, MD
Dear Community Oncology Colleagues: I want to acknowledge the Board of Directors of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) for their support in electing me to the position of President of COA. Fortunately, we have a very involved Board that takes the... Read More →

Patrick Cobb, MD Elected President of COA
On behalf of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), I have the pleasure of announcing that Patrick Cobb, MD has been elected to serve as the President of COA. Dr. Cobb is a practicing medical oncologist from Billings, Montana and has served in several... Read More →

Impact of 2009 Medicare Fee Schedule on Your Practice
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the 2009 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). This new fee schedule implements the 1.1% increase in physician services reimbursement that Congress mandated in the Improvement for Patients and... Read More →