NCCS CEO’s Article via CURE “Aiming to Improve Quality of Cancer Care”
In a recent article posted online via CURE Magazine, Shelley Fuld Nasso describes experiences that underscore the need for improved communication between patients and providers, as well as the evidence-base that informs NCCS' push for cancer care planning. The Institute of Medicine recently proposed a framework for quality cancer care ...
Advocating for Clear Coverage for Clinical Trial Services for Medicare Advantage Enrollees
NCCS joined with 20 patient advocacy groups and professional societies to urge the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to correct a long-standing inequity in Medicare coverage by requiring Medicare Advantage plans to provide coverage for clinical trials. Currently, individuals with Medicare Advantage plans must revert to standard fee-for-service ...
NCCS Joins Cancer Leadership Council (CLC) in Comments to CMS Regarding “Protected Classes”
NCCS joined its colleagues in the Cancer Leadership Council in urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reconsider the new policy on classes of clinical concern that has been proposed for Medicare Part D beginning in contract year 2015. CMS has proposed removing three classes of drugs ...
Medicare Payment Reform: A Chance to Advance Patient-Centered Cancer Care
NCCS is following two important policy developments that will impact Medicare payments for physician services. Congress is making early steps to reform Medicare payments for physician services, and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) is seeking public input on refinements in Medicare payments to physician specialists. These steps ...
Medicare Payment Update for 2014
As Congress deliberates significant reforms of Medicare payments for physicians, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the final fee schedule for calendar year 2014. In the final schedule, CMS abandoned a payment revision that would have significantly reduced rates of pay for certain cancer diagnostic tests ...
Reforming Payments to Physicians Caring for Medicare Beneficiaries
By the first quarter of 2014, the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) and its colleagues in the cancer advocacy community may see substantial progress toward a Medicare payment system that rewards quality and focuses on care planning and coordination. These core principles have been advanced by NCCS and its ...
End-of-Session Activities in Congress: The Race to a Budget Deal
The 113th Congress, which is ending its first session in a matter of days, has been criticized for being the least productive Congress in recent memory. In the race to adjourn for the year, Congress is seeking to complete action on a budget deal and to take initial steps toward reforming ...
Call to Action: Contact Congress and Support the 2013 PACT Act
Earlier this month, the House Ways & Means and Senate Finance Committees unveiled a Medicare reform package that transitions the physician payment system to one that rewards physicians for the quality of care they provide instead of the volume of services they provide. These changes in Medicare, which will be ...
The Hill Online “Physician Payment Reform Matters to Cancer Patients”
Proposed Reforms Could Improve Quality of Care NCCS advocates for recommendations that could benefit cancer patients and the Medicare program As advocates for quality cancer care, we at NCCS have urged changes to the Medicare payment system to improve the care of Medicare beneficiaries with cancer. A bipartisan proposal developed ...
NCCS Policy Comments: Rewarding Quality of Care Among Other Measures in SGR Legislative Proposal
NCCS submitted comments to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways & Means Committee on a draft proposal to repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula and reform Medicare physician payment system. NCCS commended the committees on developing a bipartisan, bicameral approach that would reward quality of care instead ...
