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 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 ...

The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship joined colleagues in the cancer advocacy community in offering advice to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the standards for sharing patient-specific clinical trials data with researchers.  FDA has proposed that such data be made available to researchers, in hopes that such uses ...

The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) joined more than 20 patient and professional organizations in the Cancer Leadership Council in sending a letter to Congressional leadership urging the end of the government shutdown. The letter describes the effects of the shutdown on cancer research and cancer patients. “Even the ...

NCCS submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the proposed rule that addresses Medicare Part B payment policies for 2014. In its comments, NCCS commended CMS for its efforts to foster care management, including codes for transitional care management which were implemented in 2013. In ...

NCCS submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a follow-up to the Lung Cancer Patient-Focused Drug Development public meeting on June 28, 2013. The patient-focused drug development program is an initiative mandated by the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA) and is intended to provide the ...

NCCS joined its patient advocate colleagues in the Cancer Leadership Council in comments on a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) document that provides guidance about the use of certain “expedited programs” that may be employed in the review of therapies for serious conditions.  The FDA has updated the guidance regarding ...

NCCS filed comments in support of proposed cancer care quality measures that will be utilized to assess the cancer care provided by the prospective payment system (PPS)-exempt cancer hospitals.  In its comments, NCCS focused on the outcome measure that will assess the performance of PPS-exempt institutions in preventing inpatient admission ...

NCCS is a member of the Alliance for Childhood Cancer and joined with the Alliance to support the introduction of the Carolyn Pryce Conquer Childhood Cancer Reauthorization Act. This legislation would make important progress to expand child, adolescent, and young adult cancer research, improve the tracking of cancer incidences, and ...

NCCS joined its colleagues in the Cancer Leadership Council in publishing a statement of principles to guide reform of Medicare payment for cancer care.  Major news outlets have suggested that Medicare beneficiaries are not receiving their cancer care due to the 2% cuts in Medicare payments required under the sequestration ...