Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC) introduced a bill (H.R. 1416) that is gathering support in the House to stop the application of the sequester cut to cancer drug reimbursement. In a few short weeks, the bill is gaining support in the House, especially now that Congress has passed legislation to stop flight delays caused by the sequester.

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In August 2011, Congress passed the Budget Control Act, which required Congress to agree to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion over a 9-year period—or if Congress failed to do this, automatic cuts known as “sequestration” would be implemented.

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The House voted to repeal ObamaCare on Thursday for the third time since Republicans took over the chamber in 2011.

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House Speaker John Boehner was noncommittal on when — or even if — Republicans would put a bill on the floor to replace President Barack Obama’s health care law.

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Shouldn't you be able to see the price of something before you buy it, so you can shop for value or simply figure out whether you can afford it? Before you roll your eyes and say, "Of course," think about the last time you bought medical care, especially in a hospital. See any price lists on the wall? Probably not. And, if you had, you might have fainted on the spot.

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After decades of using one-size-fits-all therapies to combat cancer, doctors are using new tools to help decide when their patients can skip chemotherapy or other harsh treatments.

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Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC) introduced a bill (H.R. 1416) that is gathering support in the House to stop the application of the sequester cut to cancer drug reimbursement. In a few short weeks, the bill is gaining support in the House, especially now that Congress has passed legislation to stop flight delays caused by the sequester.

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Much has been written about the relationship between high medical expenses and the likelihood of filing for bankruptcy, but the relationship between receiving a cancer diagnosis and filing for bankruptcy is less well understood.

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The Senate confirmed President Obama’s nominee to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has bad news for Pentagon officials, defense contractors, national park vacationers and other powerful constituencies dealing with the consequences of sequestration: unlike the Federal Aviation Administration, you won’t be getting any special treatment.

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Two early-stage drug studies from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. BMY -0.83% and Roche Holding AG ROG.VX -1.13% provided fresh evidence that harnessing the power of the immune system is emerging as a promising weapon against cancer.

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Congresswoman Renee Ellmers (R-NC) introduced a bill (H.R. 1416) that is gathering support in the House to stop the application of the sequester cut to cancer drug reimbursement. In a few short weeks, the bill is gaining support in the House, especially now that Congress has passed legislation to stop flight delays caused by the sequester.

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At community-based cancer treatment practices across Long Island, the federal government's sequestration cuts have hit an already-vulnerable population: cancer patients.

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Democrats anticipate glitches in ObamaCare's implementation and are anxious about the potential political fallout, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday.

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One of the defining moments in the history of breast cancer occurred in 1974 when the first lady, Betty Ford, spoke openly about her mastectomy, lifting a veil of secrecy from the disease and ushering in a new era of breast cancer awareness.

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Rep. Tim Bishop, accompanied by doctors and patients in East Setauket, called yesterday for an end to cuts to Medicare reimbursements for cancer treatment caused by across-the-board federal budget cuts.

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A new ASCO survey of U.S. oncology practices shows the automatic two percent budget cut to Medicare chemotherapy drug reimbursement under sequestration is already having a significant impact on care for people with cancer just one month after the federal funding reduction went into effect.

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Congress will redouble its focus on Medicare’s flawed physician payment formula this week as the Senate Finance Committee takes up the issue.

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After the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act last June, Senator Jim DeMint and Representative Michele Bachmann wrote Republican governors, urging them to refuse to establish ACA-prescribed “exchanges”—statewide health insurance markets—for small businesses and individuals not covered by employer-sponsored health plans.

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Shortages of cancer drugs continue to take a toll on patient care, increasing drug errors and costs, and leading in some cases to the purchase of short-supply products from “gray-market” suppliers, according to results of a new survey of oncology practitioners.

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On April 1, 2013, CMS applied the Medicare sequester cut to cancer care. All the guidance and materials you requested can be found in the Resource Center on the COA website.

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According to a recent survey, the sequestration cut to cancer care will have a devastating impact on seniors and their providers, as well as costing Medicare money.

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COA is providing a tool that will allow you to estimate the impact of the 2% Medicare sequester payment cut to drugs and services.

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All cancer drug reimbursement from Medicare and private payers based on Average Sales Price (ASP) is artificially reduced by the inclusion of manufacturer-to-distributor prompt payment discounts in the calculation of ASP. If you want to correct this problem straining the cancer delivery system, reach out to your Representatives to ask them to cosponsor House bill H.R. 800.

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The Community Oncology Alliance (COA), a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and fostering community cancer care, today announced details of their national conference that brings together all members of the cancer community: cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, nurses, oncologists, cancer center practice administrators and industry partners. The conference will be held March 22 and 23, 2013 at the Swan & Dolphin Hotels, Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

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Attachments

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Based on changes to the 2013 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, including the one-year SGR patch, COA is providing a tool to help you evaulate the impact on your practice.

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Register TODAY for the one, must-attend event for community oncology in 2013. You won't want to miss this jam-packed event, with great presentations and opportunity to network.

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Representatives Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) and Joe Heck, DO (R-NV) introduced a bill that would permanently repeal the flawed SGR formula, the basis for Medicare reimbursement. This bipartisan Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Actwould avert the 32% SGR payment cut for 2013. Click h...

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During a recent national call of the COA Administrators' Network (CAN), the issue of Medicare payment problems associated with CPT code 96367 was raised. Many practice administrators expressed concern over the rejection of submitted claims that contained more than three (3) sequentially infus...

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We have pulled together contact information for House and Senate health legislative staff to use in outreach Click here to access contact information for House health staff and click here for Senate contacts. The lists are presented by state by Representative and Senator. Please remember to...

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Alabama Arizona (House letter) (Senate letter) California (Southern; sample) Colorado(Coalition of Hematology and Oncology Practices) Colorado State Society (House letter) (Senate letter) Florida (sample; letters sent to individual Representatives and Senators) Georgia Hawaii Iowa ...

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House Ways & Means Congressmen Wally Herger (R-CA) and Dave Reichert (R-WA) release their investigative report on AARP. Click here to access.

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COA has updated its Community Oncology Practice Impact Report documenting the adverse impact due to Medicare public policy. Click here to access the report.

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Here is the COA “Must Read” list for all oncology professionals. Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer On-line articles: The Cost Conundrum(The New Yorker, 6/1/09) What You Don't Know Might Kill You; The right doctors can make all the differenc...

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Rose Gerber has been promoted to role of Director of Communications and Patient Advocacy.

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Dr. David Eagle discusses the impact of cancer care on the patient. Part 1 of a series. (Read More)

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Nancy Davenport-Ennis, CEO of the National Patient Advocacy Foundation, writes that the true targets of the Medicare sequestration cut are cancer patients. In the article she quotes statistics from the COA Practice Impact Report.

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The COA President speaks out on the consolidation of cancer care in this article from OncLive.

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COA Past President Patrick Cobb and COA Executive Director Ted Okon have been on Capitol Hill with Dr. Mark Thompson talking about how to fix the drug shortages. In this article they talk about specific solutions to the crisis.

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Cancer drug shortages are adversely impacting patient care. Dr. Frame comments on his experience and calls on Congress to fix the crisis.

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Recommended reading of an article penned by COA Board member and practicing oncologist from Utah.

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COA President David Eagle, MD discusses the future of community oncology at recent conference.

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COA Past President Dr. Patrick Cobb and Executive Director Ted Okon discuss the changing face of cancer care. ...

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We are ticking down on what may be historic elections. Although we are in the middle of a presidential term. ...

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“The problem with this high-stakes game of chicken is physicians and patients are the ones getting run over, not members of Congress,” says Dr. Cobb about the Medicare SGR debacle.

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COA President Dr. Patrick Cobb relates experiences with PQRI in oncology.

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COA President Dr. Patrick Cobb and Executive Director Ted Okon review the new law and its impact on cancer care.

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COA President Dr. Patrick Cobb quoted on major oral cancer drug study sponsored by COA. ...

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Dr. Barbara McAneny fears that she and other doctors in private practice might soon be out of business.

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The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) today criticized the newest round of cuts in cancer care as a move in the wrong direction of health care reform. Although not as devastating as expected, the cuts by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) ...

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Listen to the radio broadcast with Dr. Robert Warner on “House Calls.”

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Watch this TV interview on the problems facing community oncology practices. ...

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President Obama flatly declared Thursday he was unaware of the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of politically conservative groups.

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Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday pleaded with House Republicans to unify around a debt-ceiling plan, telling his conference that he did not want to have to rely on Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to help pass legislation.

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Three congressional committees are now investigating the fundraising pitches Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has made on behalf of an outside group promoting ObamaCare.

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The White House was besieged Tuesday by three controversies that threatened President Obama’s second-term agenda and his administration’s credibility.

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These are strange days in healthcare. Even the Boston Globe is starting to push back on and question the one-size fits all approach of the ACA. See the editorial from Sunday’s paper below.

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President Barack Obama genuinely believed he could buck the second-term curse of fecklessness and scandal that afflicted the last three two-term presidents, even if history — and his adversaries — suggested otherwise.

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One of the Democrats’ most veteran strategists warns that the party is “in decline” and “at considerable risk” when President Barack Obama is no longer on the scene.

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The two companies that make vaccines against cervical cancer announced Thursday that they would cut their prices to the world’s poorest countries below $5 per dose, eventually making it possible for millions of girls to be protected against a major deadly cancer.

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House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that next week’s vote to repeal the health reform law is being held to provide new lawmakers a chance to vote on it.

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The White House would likely veto a Republican attempt to defuse the debt limit, arguing the bill is just a "default by another name."

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The 2013 debt-limit fight has begun. Powerful policymakers on both sides of the aisle are jockeying for position in what will be a defining moment for the 113th Congress.

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The sequester will take a bigger bite from the economy in the coming months as workers collect more unpaid leave and additional spending cuts are triggered, several economic experts predicted Monday.

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Dr. Emil Frei III, an oncologist whose trailblazing use of combination chemotherapy — in which anticancer drugs are administered simultaneously rather than singly — helped make certain cancers curable for the first time, died on Tuesday at his home in Oak Park, Ill. He was 89.

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A slowdown in government travel and conferences has made the Washington area an exception in an otherwise rebounding hospitality market nationwide.

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Facing the task of cutting 142 children from the Head Start program in Colorado Springs this fall, the teachers and administrators came up with a creative response: Have the children decorate empty chairs, then sell them for $500 apiece to stave off the worst of the across-the-board federal cuts heading their way.

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The public still doesn’t like Obamacare and still doesn’t like President Obama’s handling of health care in general.

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President Obama signed legislation on Wednesday to end the air traffic controller furloughs from sequestration that were blamed for hundreds of flight delays last week.

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Anxious Democrats fear a botched implementation of ObamaCare could dash their hopes of controlling the House and Senate for President Obama’s last two years in office.

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U.S. voters would prefer a White House and Congress controlled by one political party, according to a poll out today that also gives the Democrats a slight edge in next year’s congressional elections.

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The old county courthouse lawyer came out in Hal Rogers last week as the Kentucky Republican tore into the Federal Aviation Administration for springing on Congress — without warning he insisted — its fateful furloughs of air traffic controllers.

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