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Oncology is about caring for some of the most vulnerable patients in our society but new medicare proposals are just irresponsible
Currently, many oncology practices are forced to close their doors because of ASP (Average Sales price) + 6%, a rule passed in 2003 that medicare will only pay a 6% margin on oncology drugs. Many smaller practices are actually spending more on buying the drugs than what they get in return, forcing them to close their doors.
Now, medicare wants to bankrupt cancer care. Cuts proposed are ASP + 0.5-2.5%
Taken from Article on Medscape:
Referring to part of the proposal that would modify drug reimbursement on the basis of zip codes in certain regions of the United States, Allen S. Lichter, MD, chief executive officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), said that it is "inappropriate for CMS to manipulate choice of treatment for cancer patients using heavy-handed reimbursement techniques."
In a statement, he added that physicians "did not create the problem of drug pricing, and its solution should not be on their backs."
Soon after the CMS issued the proposal, Ted Okon, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), tweeted that the pilot project "is the most contrived, absurd experiment on cancer care I have seen.
"We're talking about a cancer 'moonshot' and a fight against cancer," he told Medscape Medical News. "So I thought this country was at war with cancer, not cancer care."
Currently, many oncology practices are forced to close their doors because of ASP (Average Sales price) + 6%, a rule passed in 2003 that medicare will only pay a 6% margin on oncology drugs. Many smaller practices are actually spending more on buying the drugs than what they get in return, forcing them to close their doors.
Now, medicare wants to bankrupt cancer care. Cuts proposed are ASP + 0.5-2.5%
Taken from Article on Medscape:
Referring to part of the proposal that would modify drug reimbursement on the basis of zip codes in certain regions of the United States, Allen S. Lichter, MD, chief executive officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), said that it is "inappropriate for CMS to manipulate choice of treatment for cancer patients using heavy-handed reimbursement techniques."
In a statement, he added that physicians "did not create the problem of drug pricing, and its solution should not be on their backs."
Soon after the CMS issued the proposal, Ted Okon, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), tweeted that the pilot project "is the most contrived, absurd experiment on cancer care I have seen.
"We're talking about a cancer 'moonshot' and a fight against cancer," he told Medscape Medical News. "So I thought this country was at war with cancer, not cancer care."