32 U.S. Senators Send Letter to HHS Secretary Insisting CMS Stop the Radiation Oncology Cuts

On September 23, 2009, 32 U.S. Senators sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius calling on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reverse the devastating payment cuts for radiation oncology found in their proposed rule. The letter pointed out that while CMS projects the overall negative impact to radiation oncology reimbursement would be 19 percent, the rates for certain essential cancer services would be reduced by up to 44 percent. US Oncology worked successfully with ASTRO, ACRO, Varian, 21st Century, Vantage Oncology, OnCure and Alliance Oncology to help garner the 32 Senate signatures on this important letter.

The 32 Senators stress that the proposed rule seems to have been unduly influenced by concerns originally raised by Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) regarding the volume growth of diagnostic imaging services. Unlike the MedPAC report and subsequent MedPAC comments, the proposed rule misses a critical distinction highlighted in this letter: radiation therapy is therapeutic and should not be included in policy aimed at concerns about supposed volume growth in diagnostic imaging. The Senators warn that these drastic cuts could force freestanding and community-based cancer centers to close their doors, limiting access to cancer care for our seniors, particularly those living in rural areas.

Click here to read the text of the Lincoln-Burr letter to the HHS Secretary.

The following 32 Senators signed the Lincoln-Burr letter:

Richard Burr (R-NC), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Evan Bayh (D-IN), Mark Begich (D-AK), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Robert Bennett (R-UT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jim Bunning (R-KY), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Tom Coburn (R-OK), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Carl Levin (D-MI), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jim Risch (R-ID), Arlen Specter (R-PA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tom Udall (D-NM), George Voinovich (R-OH), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).


63 Members of Congress Send Letter to HHS Secretary Insisting CMS Stop the Radiation Oncology Cuts

The Lincoln-Burr letter follows the release of a similar oncology-specific letter sent from 63 members of the House of Representatives to the HHS Secretary on August 17, 2009. This letter, led by House Representatives Griffith (R-AL) (radiation oncologist), Myrick (R-NC) (Co-Chair of the Cancer Caucus), Capps (D-CA) (Co-Chair of the Cancer Caucus), and Eshoo (D-CA) (Co-Chair of the Cancer Care Working Group), called for a reversal of these devastating payment cuts for radiation oncology.

The Representatives also stressed that radiation therapy for cancer is therapeutic, is not diagnostic imaging, and noted that MedPAC confirmed their report did not recommend cuts to radiation therapy for cancer patients. US Oncology also worked closely with ASTRO, ACRO, Varian, 21st Century, Vantage Oncology, OnCure and Alliance Oncology to gather the 63 signatures of Members of Congress for this important letter.

60 Members of Congress Send Letter to HHS Secretary Insisting CMS Stop the Cuts to Radiation Oncology, Medical Oncology, Cardiology, Radiology and Urology

In addition, on September 10, 2009, two members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Reps. Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX) and Mike Rogers (R-MI), sent a letter signed by 60 members of Congress to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius calling on CMS to back away from their proposed reimbursement cuts to radiation oncology, medical oncology, cardiology, radiology and urology. The Gonzalez-Rogers letter was spearheaded by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC), and was supported by US Oncology.

The Gonzalez-Rogers letter criticized the decision by CMS to propose reimbursement cuts for the treatment of cancer and heart disease, citing reductions in rates for chemotherapy and pacemaker implantation that reach 20-40 percent. The letter was highly critical of the American Medical Association (AMA) Physician Practice Information Survey (PPIS) Survey that was used to justify these cuts, noting that the survey defies well-recognized trends when it draws the conclusion that oncology and cardiology practice expenses have dropped substantially over the last 5 years. The letter questioned the use of the PPIS survey considering its inadequate sample size that fails to capture the conditions across the nation, especially in rural and low-income urban areas.