COA has submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the planned Medicare reimbursement cuts for cancer care.  These include severe payment reductions for medical oncology, diagnostic imaging, and radiation oncology.

COA includes the following points in its comments:

• The payment cuts for medical oncology are not reflective of the reality of operating a community oncology practice.  In fact, preliminary results from the Components of Care Study show that community oncology practices are reimbursed for only 55% of the costs incurred in providing quality cancer care to Medicare patients.
• Results from the American Medical Association (AMA) survey, which is the basis for the cuts to community oncology, is fundamentally flawed.  COA communicated this to the AMA in a letter last year that protested the survey as inappropriate for community oncology.  COA included the letter to the AMA with its comments.
• COA believes that CMS does not actually have the statutory authority to use the AMA survey results for medical oncology.
• COA strongly opposes the planned cuts to diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy.  The basis for these cuts is insignificant data from a survey of only several urban areas.  COA believes that these reimbursement reductions are inappropriate, counter-productive to coordinated care, and will put additional cost pressures on community oncology practices.

Click here to download a copy of the COA comments.

Click here to download a copy of the AMA letter.