Health Care Roundup: Medicare Payments for CAR-T; Cancer Screenings in Older Adults; Cancer and At-Home DNA Tests; End of Life Care; More
CAR-T therapies, a cutting-edge type of immunotherapy, are seen by many as the next generation for cancer treatments. Of course, they are expensive and complicated to administer. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced long-awaited policies regarding payment for these treatments. CMS stated, “Medicare will pay for ...
Remembering Richard Payne, MD
With great sadness, we mourn the passing of former NCCS Board Chair Richard Payne, MD, on January 4. Dr. Payne was a member of the NCCS Board of Directors from 2005 to 2012; he served as Board Chair from 2010 to 2011. Thoughtful, deliberative, and soft spoken, Dr. Payne was ...
Remembering Jennifer Friar Groves
By CEO Shelley Fuld Nasso — I’d like to share the story of my dear friend, Jennifer Friar Groves, who died earlier this month at the age of 32 from metastatic breast cancer. She gave me her permission to share her story, and in fact, she desperately wanted her story ...
Health Care Roundup: ‘Junk Insurance;’ High Costs and Forgone Care; Reinsurance; Patient Safety After Hospital Mergers
Trump Admin Continues Push to Make Short-Term Health Plans More Acceptable — On Wednesday, the Trump administration made it easier for short-term plans to reach more consumers in another move to try to halt further ACA progress. While short-term plans are inexpensive, they do not cover pre-existing conditions and the ...
What Caught Our Eye: ACA Premiums; Excessive Cancer Care; Saving Lives With Policy; Horrifying Hospice Care; Cancer Drug Efficacy; and More
What Caught Our Eye is our week-in-review blog series, where we recap the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. “When Silver Costs More Than Gold: How Trump’s Actions Have Scrambled Insurance Prices” Via New York Times — The rates for next year’s Obamacare plans are out, ...
Guest Post: For the Love of a Friend
My dear friend Avery[1], a woman I’ve known since we were 10 years old (in 5th grade together) was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) in 2006. Having observed my mother’s battle with breast cancer in the 1980s, I considered myself a veteran of the struggle. Times change. Diseases evolve ...
Being Mortal Is Far From Being Morbid: Responding to FRONTLINE’s Profile of Surgeon Atul Gawande and End of Life Care
On public television stations nationwide, the award-winning FRONTLINE series aired a program on February 10th based on the work of noted surgeon and writer, Atul Gawande. In addition to Gawande's many clinical and surgical talents, he has the rare gift of writing articles and books for all of us, no ...
WCOE: Obama takes on Precision Medicine, Palliative Care ≠ Hospice, Quantity and Quality of Life, CLRC News, Medicare Payment Reform, and Breast Cancer Patient Communication
What Caught Our Eye (WCOE) Each week, we take a closer look at the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. Don't miss President Obama speak on his #PrecisionMedicine Initiative at 11:10am ET → https://t.co/zcSZULoCno— White House OSTP 44 (@WHOSTP44) January 30, 2015 What is President Obama's 'precision ...
Guest Post: Forgotten Survivors—Supporting the Needs of Patients with Advanced Cancers
Guest post by Lillie D. Shockney, RN, BS, MAS, Director of Johns Hopkins Breast Center and Cancer Survivorship Programs. On November 19, 2014, NCCS will present the Catherine Logan Award for Service to Survivorship to Lillie at the Focus on the Care evening reception in Washington, DC. Though more and more ...
WCOE: Brittany Maynard’s Death with Dignity, Election Results and the ACA, and Susan Gubar’s “Not Talking About Medical Mistakes”
What Caught Our Eye (WCOE) Each week, we take a closer look at the cancer policy articles, studies, and stories that caught our attention. "Why is it so difficult for patients and doctors to discuss surgical accidents and complications without violating professional codes of conduct and arousing fears of legal liability?" ...
