Disease Prevention, Practice Issues Put ASCO Center Stage at AMA House of Delegates Meeting

ASCO represented the oncology community at the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Annual House of Delegates (HOD) Meeting, held June 6–10 in Chicago. While AMA’s chief policy-making body worked to shape its priorities and initiatives, ASCO delegates and alternates represented the cancer care perspective on a range of disease prevention and practice issues.

ASCO Delegate Edward P. ­Balaban, DO, FACP, FASCO, spoke on the house floor in support of a resolution—which passed—that will result in AMA working with accrediting organizations to analyze the state of obesity education in medical schools and for physicians-in-training and addressing any gaps that are uncovered. ASCO also weighed in heavily during deliberations on e-cigarettes, in-office ancillary services, “incident to” billing, and the undertreatment of pain in cancer care.

Additionally, ASCO cosponsored a resolution on the value-based modifier and flawed drug cost attribution. Resolution 236 was adopted as amended and asks that the American Medical Association work with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to modify value-based modifier cost attribution with regard to drug costs, so that the cost calculation does not unfairly disadvantage certain providers.

The HOD also held elections for AMA’s Board of Trustees. Family medicine physician Stephen R. Permut, MD, JD, is the new Chair; psychiatrist Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA, is Chair-Elect; and ASCO member Barbara L. McAneny, MD, a medical oncologist/hematologist, assumed the office of Immediate Past Chair.

The AMA HOD is made up of more than 500 voting delegates who help shape medicine’s broad and influential advocacy platform. Along with Dr. ­Balaban, ASCO is represented by its other delegate Thomas A. Marsland, MD. The Society’s alternate delegates are Kristina Novick, MD, and Ray Page, DO, PhD, ­FACOI.

ASCO also leads the HOD’s Cancer Caucus, which provides a forum to address ongoing oncology-specific issues that are either being discussed or should be discussed by the HOD. ■