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Press Releases
MOASC PRESS RELEASE
September 21, 2001
ACCESS TO CANCER CARE FOR MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES AT RISK
Los Angeles, September 21, 2001
The Commerce Committee, House Enrgy & Commerce Subcommittees
on Health and Oversight & Investigations held a hearing today
focusing on Medicare and Medicaid drug reimbursement and issues
related to practice expense.
Cancer treatments which are given in community cancer care offices
are life saving for many cancer pstients.
Members of Congress must seek to protect the cancer patient by
keeping healthy this access to convenient, safe and effective treatment,
and also to cancer clinical trials. To maintain thid cost effective
access to care for Medicare patients, Congress should have only
two choices:
- Keep the system of payments for chemotherapy drugs unchanged
at AWP (minus) -5% until all practice costs data are analyzed;
or
- Reduce drug payments and also reimburse for services provided
(but not currently reimbursed), such as pharmacy supervision,
treatment planning, dosimetry, quality control, disposal of hazardous
waste and supplies, and pay appropriately for drug administration.
Office and hospital outpatient cancer care increases the quality
of life for these patients, many of whom remain working, and prefer
not to be hospitalized.
"Because of the quality of care, 80% of cancer chemotherapy
is performed in the office infusion centers. With these treatments,
the cure rate of cancer is now up to 55%, " said Cary A. Presant,
M.D., President of the Medical Oncology Association of Southern
California, Inc. (MOASC), a non-profit organization dedicated to
ensuring access to appropriate oncology care for patients.
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