Over 90 Total Lots Up For Auction at One Location - WA 04/08

228 lawmakers urge Congress to rethink proposed cuts to radiation therapy

by Lauren Dubinsky, Senior Reporter | October 01, 2015
Rad Oncology Population Health Radiation Therapy
This week, 228 bipartisan members of the U.S. Congress wrote letters to CMS asking that the agency rethink the proposed cuts to radiation therapy reimbursement in the 2016 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Proposed Rule.

In total there were three letters signed by 40 U.S. Senators and 188 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Almost 65 percent of all cancer patients are treated with radiation therapy and almost 40 percent of all radiation therapy is conducted in freestanding, community-based facilities, according to the Radiation Therapy Alliance (RTA). In its 2016 PFS Proposed Rule, CMS proposed reducing Medicare payments to freestanding radiation therapy centers by six percent next year.
stats
DOTmed text ad

We repair MRI Coils, RF amplifiers, Gradient Amplifiers and Injectors.

MIT labs, experts in Multi-Vendor component level repair of: MRI Coils, RF amplifiers, Gradient Amplifiers Contrast Media Injectors. System repairs, sub-assembly repairs, component level repairs, refurbish/calibrate. info@mitlabsusa.com/+1 (305) 470-8013

stats
If the proposed rules are finalized, payments for a course of prostate and breast cancer treatment will be cut by 25 percent and 19 percent, respectively. Physicians, societies and patient advocate groups have been vocal about the effect that the cuts will have on access to care.

“By cutting payments to cancer care providers, the government is putting at risk an important safety net for millions of Americans in need of radiation therapy – and, in turn, jeopardizing the health and well-being of our nation’s most vulnerable patients,” Dr. Christopher M. Rose, chief technology officer of Vantage Oncology, wrote in a recent article published in The Hill.

He went on to explain that the proposed rule will mean that freestanding centers will now be paid at 80 percent of overall hospital rates. “This is indefensible, even though the direct costs for the services, the quality of care, and the outcomes of the care are identical,” he wrote. “It will be impossible for many freestanding facilities to survive.”

The cuts will be even more devastating for the African American community since there is a disproportionate prevalence of prostate and breast cancers among that population. Thirty members of the Congressional Black Caucus wrote a letter that explained that African American men have a 2.4 times higher death rate for prostate cancer than white men, and African American women also have higher death rates for breast cancer.

You Must Be Logged In To Post A Comment