On December 31st, NCCS submitted our final comment letter of the year to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding the advance notice of proposed rulemaking for the Medicare Part B drug program. In the letter, we outlined concerns that this proposal could have on Medicare beneficiaries such as impacts on patient access to innovative therapies, as well as concerns regarding the enormous scope of the test. NCCS suggested [...]

NCCS submitted a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the proposed update to the hospital outpatient prospective payment system, known as OPPS, for calendar year 2019. In the letter, NCCS outlines support for a change in payment for clinical services that are provided at off-campus provider-based departments that will reduce cost-sharing for patients for clinic visits. Additionally, CMS included a “request for information” [...]

Washington, DC – NCCS applauds the efforts of Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and 30 of her colleagues to advance a resolution blocking the final rule permitting expansion of short-term plans. The final rule extending the availability of short-term plans will put more Americans at risk of purchasing junk insurance plans and will also undermine the individual insurance markets on which many people with cancer rely. “NCCS considers these new short-term plans a serious threat,” [...]