Reach out to your Members of Congress TODAY to invite them to your practice.

It is critical that you engage your Members about the potential impact of health care reform on cancer care, as well as the consequences of the planned Medicare cuts to cancer care.

Go to the COA website at www.communityoncology.org for information and materials to hold a Sit in My Chair visit in your practice.
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Your Members of Congress are home through Labor Day.  Especially during the summer intense health care debate, you need to reach out to your Members of Congress, both Representatives and Senators, and their staff to have your voice and issues heard.

The White House is encouraging Americans to reach out to your Members of Congress by, among other things, stopping by their offices.  Don’t let the cancer care issues go unheard! Invite Members and their staff to your practice.  Especially as the debate has turned volatile, many Members are canceling open town hall meetings and similar events.  They are looking to hold smaller, private events.  This will create openings for you to invite them to your practice to learn more about cancer care.

The Sit in My Chair visit has been used successfully in the past to help educate Members of Congress and their staff about community cancer care.  One United States Senator recently remarked that when a colleague asked her how she knew so much about cancer care, it was because she sat in a chemotherapy chair several years ago — not as a patient but as part of a Sit in My Chair visit.

Aside from the ramifications of health care reform on community cancer care, practices are facing significant cuts resulting from planned Medicare payment reductions to infusion room services and elimination of the consultation codes. Additionally, clinics with diagnostic imaging and therapeutic radiation face severe Medicare cuts in 2010.

We need to educate Members of Congress and their staff about community cancer care.  Sit in My Chair is a very powerful way of bringing cancer care upfront and personal to a Member of Congress.  It is a proven, educational, and relationship-building process to use with your elected representatives to the Congress.  Sitting in a chemotherapy chair provides a unique patient perspective on the complexity of cancer care.

Even if you cannot go through the entire Sit in My Chair visit, we provided information and materials on how to engage your Members of Congress during a meeting at your practice — or even at another location.  It is critical that you find a place where you can engage your Members and their staff about the cancer care issues.

Go to the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) website at www.communityoncology.org under the Immediate Action Needed section for materials on how to invite your Members and conduct a visit.
For further information or comments, please contact:
The Community Oncology Alliance
1101 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC, 20004
202-756-2258
www.communityoncology.org
Patrick Cobb, MD, President
Contact Dr. Cobb
David Eagle, MD, Vice President
Contact Dr. Eagle
Robert Hermann, MD, Secretary
Contact Dr. Hermann
Ted Okon, Executive Director
Contact Ted Okon
Mary Kruczynski, Director of Policy Analysis
Contact Mary Kruczynski
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The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) is a non-profit organization. The mission of COA is to foster and protect the community oncology delivery system in the United States through public policy, advocacy, and education. Eighty-four percent of Americans battling cancer receive high quality, affordable, and accessible cancer care in community oncology clinics close to home. The accessibility of high quality cancer care, coupled with earlier diagnosis and new therapies, has resulted in a decreased cancer mortality rate.