The Biggest Threat to Local Cancer Care

Published On: March 19th, 2018Categories: Latest News, Uncategorized

A little-known federal program is threatening local cancer care and independent cancer doctors in Ohio. The 340B program requires drug manufacturers to sell medicines to certain hospitals and clinics at steep discounts but allows the hospitals to sell the drugs to patients at full price. Hospitals are supposed to use the benefits of this discount to offset uncompensated cancer care for low income or uninsured patients. Because of the tremendous profits hospitals can make from this program, what started out as a legitimate helping hand for hospitals has become prone to abuse.

Some hospital systems routinely use the profits from these drug discounts as a business strategy to increase profits. They use the profits to build new centers and employ cancer doctors so they can make even more money from the discounts, all while doing less to directly benefit the patients they said they would help. This is supported by research recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which stated: “Financial gains for hospitals have not been associated with clear evidence of expanded care or lower mortality among low-income patients.” With these profits, it’s not surprising that hospitals have latched onto the program to take over the cancer care at the expense of patients.

For consumers, it means that when you choose a cancer doctor employed by a hospital system, you will have to use that system for your care. You lose your choice and your costs will increase.

Recent data supports that it is more cost effective for patients to receive care from an independent cancer doctor than a hospital-employed cancer doctor. Chemotherapy charges are 55 percent higher with a hospital-employed doctor and a doctor visit can be 333 percent higher. In its 2013 report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) noted that the patient copayments at hospitals were nearly triple that of freestanding physician’s offices.

Fortunately, Congress recently introduced the 340B HELP and 340B PAUSE acts, two smart pieces of legislation that will introduce transparency and rein in abuse of this runaway program. These bills will allow the public to independently assess the 340B program against hard data, not hearsay.

At the same time, new research shows that rural hospitals in Ohio are already benefiting greatly from recent reforms to 340B that reallocate savings across all hospitals and reduce drug co-pays for seniors.

Honest hospitals who are using 340B savings to help patients should be fine with reform and transparency as a step in the right direction. Ohioans should contact their members of Congress and tell them to support the pending legislation – and make 2018 the year we put patients before profits.

Read the full article on Cincinnati Business Courier here. 

The Biggest Threat to Local Cancer Care

Published On: March 19th, 2018Categories: Latest News, Uncategorized

A little-known federal program is threatening local cancer care and independent cancer doctors in Ohio. The 340B program requires drug manufacturers to sell medicines to certain hospitals and clinics at steep discounts but allows the hospitals to sell the drugs to patients at full price. Hospitals are supposed to use the benefits of this discount to offset uncompensated cancer care for low income or uninsured patients. Because of the tremendous profits hospitals can make from this program, what started out as a legitimate helping hand for hospitals has become prone to abuse.

Some hospital systems routinely use the profits from these drug discounts as a business strategy to increase profits. They use the profits to build new centers and employ cancer doctors so they can make even more money from the discounts, all while doing less to directly benefit the patients they said they would help. This is supported by research recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which stated: “Financial gains for hospitals have not been associated with clear evidence of expanded care or lower mortality among low-income patients.” With these profits, it’s not surprising that hospitals have latched onto the program to take over the cancer care at the expense of patients.

For consumers, it means that when you choose a cancer doctor employed by a hospital system, you will have to use that system for your care. You lose your choice and your costs will increase.

Recent data supports that it is more cost effective for patients to receive care from an independent cancer doctor than a hospital-employed cancer doctor. Chemotherapy charges are 55 percent higher with a hospital-employed doctor and a doctor visit can be 333 percent higher. In its 2013 report to Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) noted that the patient copayments at hospitals were nearly triple that of freestanding physician’s offices.

Fortunately, Congress recently introduced the 340B HELP and 340B PAUSE acts, two smart pieces of legislation that will introduce transparency and rein in abuse of this runaway program. These bills will allow the public to independently assess the 340B program against hard data, not hearsay.

At the same time, new research shows that rural hospitals in Ohio are already benefiting greatly from recent reforms to 340B that reallocate savings across all hospitals and reduce drug co-pays for seniors.

Honest hospitals who are using 340B savings to help patients should be fine with reform and transparency as a step in the right direction. Ohioans should contact their members of Congress and tell them to support the pending legislation – and make 2018 the year we put patients before profits.

Read the full article on Cincinnati Business Courier here.