ARLINGTON, Va., May 17, 2022 (view online) — Radiation oncologists will meet with congressional leaders and staff today to ask for their support of policies to bolster access and equity in cancer care. Today's American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Advocacy Day is the first to be held in-person since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Radiation oncologists and medical physicists from across the country will participate in more than 100 meetings, where they will urge lawmakers to:
Preserve access to care through stable Medicare payments and a fair radiation oncology alternative payment model
Prevent prior authorization delays and disruptions for people needing urgent cancer treatments
Increase federal investments in radiation oncology research and advance health equity measures to eliminate cancer disparities
More than one million people receive radiation therapy each year to treat cancer and other diseases. Radiation oncologists are calling on Congress to continue its longstanding support of patients and the larger cancer care community, with an emphasis on three legislative priorities:
ASTRO Ask #1: Support stable, value-based Medicare payments for radiation oncology that will improve access and quality, advance equity and reduce costs (view press kit)
Radiation oncologists provide thousands of cancer cures to people each year and offer patients significant value through cost-effective care. Despite these contributions, radiation oncology has faced more Medicare physician payment cuts than any other medical specialty, including cuts for radiation therapy in community-based clinics that total 20% over the last 10 years.
Millions of dollars in additional cuts are forthcoming due to clinical labor price updates scheduled for the next four years. Clinics faced with such significant cuts often have no choice but to reduce vital staff and services, cancel technology investments and, in some cases, close or consolidate – limiting patient access to cancer treatments.
While ASTRO agrees that updates to clinical labor pricing are needed, such steep reimbursement cuts – up to 10% for several key cancer treatments – are untenable. Radiation oncologists therefore are asking members of Congress to support legislation this year to mitigate existing and forthcoming cuts to radiation oncology and other specialties under the new clinical labor price update. Radiation oncologists also are calling for major reforms to Medicare's physician payment system to stop the annual cycle of cuts and ensure stability, access, value and equity.
