The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) applauded the introduction of laws in Congress on Could 15 that would transform the best way Medicare pays for radiation remedy.
The invoice, named the Radiation Oncology Case Charge (ROCR) Worth-Primarily based Cost Program Act, may shift the best way Medicare pays for the remedies from payment for service to a extra patient-centered method, ASTRO stated.
“Via ROCR, Congress can construct a future the place radiation oncology reimbursement is pushed by affected person wants, not by the variety of remedies supplied,” Jeff Michalski, MD, chair of ASTRO’s board of administrators, stated in a information launch.
The bipartisan invoice was launched by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), John Joyce, MD (R-PA), and Paul Tonko (D-NY). A U.S. Home invoice quantity for the laws is pending.
Primarily, the ROCR Act incorporates the strengths of the indefinitely delayed Radiation Oncology Various Cost Mannequin proposed by Medicare, particularly the use of episode-based funds, and addresses its shortcomings, together with extreme fee cuts, burdensome administrative necessities, and the absence of a path to scale back disparities, ASTRO stated.
Key options of the ROCR Act embody the next, ASTRO stated:
- It leverages episode-based funds to align monetary incentives with scientifically confirmed outcomes.
- It helps shorter remedies for sure cancers.
- The invoice reduces disparities that create boundaries for sufferers from rural and underserved communities to entry and full remedies.
- It implements a scientific method to enhance high quality and shield affected person security by apply accreditation.
- It unifies funds throughout settings based mostly on hospital technical funds.
- The invoice generates Medicare financial savings of roughly $200 million over 10 years.
Greater than 40 healthcare establishments and organizations have signed on in help of the ROCR ACT. As well as, radiation oncologists from throughout the nation will likely be in Washington, D.C., Could 20 to 21 to advocate for the invoice, ASTRO famous.
