CCPCA would establish a new Medicare service for cancer care planning. A plan can be developed and shared with the Medicare beneficiary at several points in the cancer care continuum, including:

In several evaluations of the cancer care system, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) National Cancer Policy Forum has found that cancer patients rarely receive a plan of care. The NAM has said that patients should receive a cancer care plan because the planning process triggers a solid treatment decision-making process and facilitates the coordination of treatment and supportive care, including management of nausea and vomiting, fatigue, anxiety, and depression.

After patients finish active treatment, they may transition into a different system for survivorship care. These patients require monitoring of the effects of their cancer treatment and for cancer recurrence, as well as follow-up care provided according to recommended schedules. A written plan facilitates the transition to survivorship and the ongoing follow-up that is required.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has placed a high value on care planning and coordination for all Medicare beneficiaries by establishing the transitional care management service and the complex chronic care management service.

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) was launched by CMS in 2016 and is a step in the right direction for cancer care planning. Medicare beneficiaries treated in one of the 190 OCM practices have access to a treatment plan, but not necessarily a survivorship care plan.

ALL Medicare beneficiaries should have access to this service, not just the ones who receive their care in OCM practices.

The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship is pleased to be joined by the following organizations and cancer centers in support of CCPCA:

Patient and Professional Organizations

American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)
CancerCare
Cancer Legal Resource Center
Children’s Cause for Cancer Advocacy (CCCA)
Lacuna Loft
LUNGevity Foundation
Lymphoma Research Foundation
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS)
National Patient Advocate Foundation
Susan G. Komen
Triage Cancer

Cancer Centers

Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
University of Virginia Cancer Center