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Showing 1 - 50CMS Finalizes Decision to Cover CAR T-Cell Therapy for Medicare Beneficiaries
On August 7, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the decision to cover U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy among recipients of Medicare benefits. FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapies are approved to...
Leading Organizations Call on Congress to Help Eliminate HPV-Related Cancers
Today, the American Association for Cancer Research, Moffitt Cancer Center, and Biden Cancer Initiative hosted a congressional briefing titled “Let’s End HPV-Related Cancers” in Washington, DC. In conjunction with this briefing, leading health organizations and...
Medicaid Expansion and Colorectal Cancer Screening
A new study examining Medicaid expansion and cancer screening found that the five states and District of Columbia that first adopted Medicaid expansion saw larger increases in colorectal cancer screening than states that did not expand Medicaid. The study—published by Fedewa et al in...
2019 ASCO: Medicaid Expansion and Time to Treatment in African American Patients Compared to White Patients With Cancer
Previous racial disparities in timely cancer treatment between African American and white patients were reduced in states where Medicaid access was expanded under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a new analysis of electronic health records from for 30,000 patients. The study, based on...
2019 ASCO: Effect of ACA Implementation on Diagnosis and Treatment of Ovarian Cancer in Women Under 65
An analysis of data from the National Cancer Database found that after implementation of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), ovarian cancer was diagnosed and treated at an earlier stage among women younger than age 65. More women also received treatment within 30 days of diagnosis, thereby...
AMA Commends Final CMS Rule for Requiring Pricing Information in TV Drug Ads
Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced a final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that will require direct-to-consumer television advertisements for prescription pharmaceuticals covered by Medicare or Medicaid to include the list price—the ...
ASH President Comments on Medicare Proposal for CAR T-Cell Therapy
Earlier this week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed to improve the reimbursement currently given to hospitals that provide chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy to patients with blood cancer as part of the Fiscal Year 2020 Inpatient Prospective Payment...
Study Finds Medicaid Reimbursement for Radiation Therapy Varies Widely State-to-State
A new study found wide state-to-state variations in Medicaid reimbursements to physicians who treat patients with cancer with radiation therapies. These differences could compound existing disparities in access to health care in rural communities, which tend to have higher Medicaid...
HHS Secretary Appoints Norman E. Sharpless, MD, as FDA Acting Commissioner
Today, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex M. Azar II appointed Norman E. Sharpless, MD, to be the acting Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He will be replacing the current FDA Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, MD, who announced his resignation on March 5....
Effect of Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Expansion on Colorectal Cancer Screening and Survival in Kentucky
Kentucky has been one of the most successful states in reducing its uninsured rate, which happened in part through the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion that took effect on January 1, 2014. In the past, Kentucky has reported low rates of colorectal cancer screening, and has ranked ...
CMS Proposes Medicare Coverage With Evidence Development for CAR T-Cell Therapy
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed coverage of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–approved chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy under its “coverage with evidence development” paradigm. Currently, there is no national...
More Than 60 Leading Health-Care Organizations Call on CMS to Maintain Coverage for Medically Necessary Cancer Testing
Leading health-care companies and organizations representing patients, providers, academic medical centers, laboratories, and diagnostic manufacturers urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to revise its interpretation of the National Coverage Determination (NCD) for...
Shared Decision-Making and Use of Low-Dose CT Screening for Lung Cancer
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine, Goodwin et al found that only a small proportion of Medicare enrollees undergoing low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening for lung cancer had a prescreening shared decision-making session, which is mandated by the Centers for...
Over 40 Medical Organizations Call for an End to the Government Shutdown
Forty-six medical advocacy organization and professional societies have called on President Donald Trump, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to end the government shutdown and, in...
AACR Releases Annual Cancer Progress Report
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has released its annual Cancer Progress Report highlighting how federally funded research discoveries are fueling the development of new and even more effective ways to prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat cancer. Key advances outlined...
Medical Groups Release Letter on Proposed Changes to Medicare Physician Payment Rule
The American Medical Association and about 150 medical groups sent the following letter to Seema Verma, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), regarding the administration’s proposals included in the 2019 Medicare physician payment rule. The full text of...
ASCO Statement: Step Therapy Creates Barriers to Care for Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries With Cancer
Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, FASCO, ASCO President, released the following statement today: “ASCO strongly opposes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) decision to allow Medicare Advantage plans to employ step therapy across physician-administered and self-administered...
Cost Differences in Chemotherapy Administration by Site
Critics of health-care consolidation have cited higher costs of chemotherapy administration as an example of how mergers drive up costs. A new study by Kalidindi et al in The American Journal of Managed Care found that although drug administration costs in hospitals are higher,...
Study Evaluates Effects of Affordable Care Act on Young Women With Gynecologic Cancer
The gains in insurance coverage with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) have already translated into improved health for young women with gynecologic cancers, who are getting diagnosed at earlier stages of their disease because of ACA benefits. That’s the conclusion of a new ...
COA Practice Impact Report Details Consolidation, Shift of U.S. Cancer Care System Into More Expensive Hospital Setting
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) has released the 2018 Community Oncology Practice Impact Report, which tracks data on the changing landscape of cancer care in the United States. It details a decade-long trend of closure and consolidation in the U.S. cancer system that has resulted in a...
Investigational in Vitro Diagnostics in Oncology Trials: Streamlined Submission Process for Study Risk Determination
On April 16, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft guidance, “Investigational in Vitro Diagnostics in Oncology Trials: Streamlined Submission Process for Study Risk Determination,” to describe for sponsors of certain oncology trials an optional streamlined...
AMA Urges Physicians to Take Steps to Avoid Medicare Payment Penalty
The American Medical Association (AMA) is reminding physicians that the Medicare reimbursement system has changed, and, if they have not done so already, they have until December 31, 2017, to take a few simple steps to avoid a Medicare payment penalty in 2019. The changes are part of the...
Hospital Groups File Lawsuit to Stop Significant Payment Cuts for 340B Hospitals
The American Hospital Association (AHA), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and America’s Essential Hospitals have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent significant...
Gary Gilliland, MD, PhD, Testifies Before Congress on NIH Funding System
Gary Gilliland, MD, PhD, President and Director of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, recently delivered the following testimony and answered questions from members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. His remarks...
Amended Health Insurance Rule Threatens Key Component of Standard Cancer Treatment
On October 12, ASCO President Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, issued the following statement: The Trump administration's move to expand the rights of employers to opt out of the requirement for contraceptive coverage would have unexpected and deleterious consequences for patients of childbearing age...
ASTRO 2017: Uninsured Patients With Cancer Saw Increased Coverage for Care Following Medicaid Expansion
A new study found that Medicaid expansion enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) improved coverage for care for patients with cancer receiving radiation therapy and potentially decreased health-care disparities. Analysis of more than 197,000 patient records from one ...
AACR Releases 2017 Cancer Progress Report: Harnessing Research Discoveries to Save Lives
Federally funded research that provides a deep understanding of cancer is spurring advances against many types of the disease. With a strong bipartisan commitment from Congress to keep investment in biomedical research a national priority, we can accelerate our pace of progress and save more lives...
FDA to Expand Public Education Campaign to Focus on Prevention of Youth E-Cigarette Use
On August 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it would pursue a strategic, new public health education campaign aimed at discouraging the use of e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) by children. The agency plans to expand its “The Real...
FDA Announces Comprehensive Regulatory Plan to Shift Trajectory of Tobacco-Related Disease, Death
On July 28, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a new comprehensive plan for tobacco and nicotine regulation that will serve as a multiyear roadmap to better protect children and significantly reduce tobacco-related disease and death. The approach places nicotine and the issue of...
Insurance Approval Rates for Enrollment in Oncology Clinical Trials Increased Under Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 was the first federal law to mandate that group health insurance plans and state-licensed insurance issuers provide coverage of standard-of-care costs for patients enrolled in approved clinical trials, effective on January 1, 2014. Under...
Narrow Network Insurance Plans More Likely to Exclude Doctors at NCI-Designated and NCCN Member Cancer Centers
Patients with cancer in the United States may be unable to access care at the nation’s top hospitals due to narrow insurance plan coverage—leaving patients to choose between lower premiums or access to higher-quality cancer care. A new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the...
FDA Unveils Plan to Eliminate Orphan Designation Backlog
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unveiled a strategic plan to eliminate the agency’s existing Orphan Drug designation request backlog and ensure continued timely response to all new requests for designation with firm deadlines. The agency’s Orphan Drug Modernization...
FDA Takes Steps to Increase Drug Competition to Improve Patient Access
On June 27, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took two new, important steps to increase competition in the market for prescription drugs and facilitate entry of lower-cost alternatives. The agency published a list of off-patent, off-exclusivity branded drugs without approved generics, and ...
ASCO 2017: SWOG Clinical Trials Have Added More Than 3 Million Years of Life for Patients With Cancer
For an investment of $125 for each year of life gained since the 1950s, the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded SWOG clinical trials program has added 3.34 million years of life for patients with cancer in the United States because of successful therapies that were proved through its trials....
ASCO Congratulates NIH Director Francis Collins on Remaining in Critical Leadership Position
ASCO President Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, released the following statement today: “ASCO congratulates Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, on the announcement of his continued service as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A renowned researcher and skilled administrator, Dr....
ASCO and Other Oncology, Medical Societies Speak Out Against White House’s Proposed Budget Cuts
On May 23, President Trump presented the White House’s fiscal year 2018 budget request, which proposes a $7.18 billion cut to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—a budget decrease of 21%. In addition, it cuts the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s chronic disease...
ASCO 2017: Increase in Early-Stage Cancer Diagnoses After Implementation of the Affordable Care Act
An analysis of nearly 273,000 patients showed that between 2013 and 2014 there was a 1% increase in the percentage of breast, lung, and colorectal cancers diagnosed at the earliest, most treatable stage. Considering the thousands of people diagnosed with these cancers annually, a 1% increase in...
AMA Statement on House Passage of American Health Care Act
American Medical Association (AMA) President Andrew W. Gurman, MD, released the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act: “The bill passed by the House today will result in millions of Americans losing access to quality,...
ASCO Applauds Congress for Providing Additional $2 Billion in NIH Funding
On May 1, Congress announced a bipartisan 2017 budget deal that contains a $2 billion increase in medical research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including $475 million more for the National Cancer Institute. The budget also maintains funding for cancer control programs at the ...
NCCN Survey Reveals Oncology Community Professionals’ Concerns About Financial Distress, Access to Care
Oncology community professionals are concerned about the ability of their patients to access cancer screening and treatment under the proposed American Health Care Act (AHCA), according to a survey conducted March 23–24, 2017, at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) 22nd ...
ASCO Releases Its State of Cancer Care in America: 2017 Report
In a press briefing today on Capitol Hill, ASCO presented its fourth annual State of Cancer Care in America: 2017 report, which found that although the cancer care delivery system in the United States is undergoing profound changes to better meet the needs of cancer survivors, persistent hurdles...
Most Federal Exchange Plans Under Affordable Care Act Do Not Contain NCI-Designated Cancer Center
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kehl et al found that most federal exchange networks under the Affordable Care Act contain a Commission on Cancer–accredited hospital, but less than half contain a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center. Study Details ...
ASCO Releases Principles for Patient-Centered Health-Care Reform
ASCO has released the “ASCO Principles for Patient-Centered Health-care Reform,” seven recommendations designed to ensure access to high-quality cancer care amid the changing U.S. health-care delivery landscape. The principles aim to assist the new Congress and Administration, so, as...
ASCO Praises Congress for Accelerating the Development and Delivery of Cancer Treatment With 21st Century Cures Act
In a statement released December 7, ASCO President Daniel F. Hayes, MD, FACP, FASCO, said, “ASCO applauds the U.S. Senate for their decisive vote today to pass the 21st Century Cures Act and authorize funding for the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot and National Institutes of Health Innovation ...
Having a Child With Cancer May Adversely Affect Parents’ Income and Employment
Having a child with cancer led to income reductions for parents and job discontinuation among mothers in a recent study, even after adjusting for prediagnosis sociodemographic factors. Published by Norberg et al in Cancer, the findings indicate that childhood cancer affects parents' income and...
7 Substances Added to HHS 14th Report on Carcinogens
The release of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 14th Report on Carcinogens on November 3, 2016, included 7 newly reviewed substances, bringing the cumulative total to 248 listings. The chemical trichloroethylene (TCE), the metallic element cobalt, and cobalt compounds...
ASCO Launches COME HOME Initiative to Give Oncology Practices Concrete Path Toward Alternative Payment System
On November 2, ASCO and Innovative Oncology Business Solutions, Inc, (IOBS) announced a new collaboration, ASCO COME HOME, an oncology medical home program designed to transition community oncology practices from volume-based to value-based care by structuring reimbursement around the full...
CDC Recommends Only Two HPV Shots for Younger Adolescents
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recommended that 11- to 12-year-olds receive 2 doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine at least 6 months apart rather than the previously recommended 3 doses to protect against cancers caused by HPV infections. Teens and young adults who ...
Vice President Biden Delivers Cancer Moonshot Report, Announces Public and Private Sector Actions to Advance Cancer Moonshot Goals
Today in the Oval Office, Vice President Joe Biden delivered the Cancer Moonshot report to the President and the American public. The report summarizes the work of the Cancer Moonshot Task Force since its creation in January and lays out the Vice President’s strategic plan for transforming...
HHS Finalizes MACRA Rule, ASCO Applauds Focus on High-Quality Patient-Centered Care
Today, the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) finalized a landmark new payment system for Medicare clinicians that will continue the Administration’s progress in reforming how the health-care system pays for care. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of ...
