Message from the CPC Chair
You may notice a change in our communications to you over the next weeks and months. We have changed the title from “MMA Today” to “Medicare & Quality Care Update” to better reflect the range of issues on which we will provide you with regular updates. Of course, MMA will still be the focus of our outreach and communications initiatives.

There remains much work to be done in the coming year. We still need to work to make sure that cancer patients have access to quality care, which means that the CMS demonstration project must be continued beyond 2005 and practices must be fairly reimbursed for all of their expenses. In addition, ASCO will continue to play a leadership role in defining quality cancer care and ensuring that pay for performance measures are true measures of quality cancer care. I look forward to build relationships with ASCO members across the country as we navigate through the new reimbursement environment.

As always, the relationships that we build and expand upon over the next year will be important to communicate our vision of quality cancer care in Washington. Through the Grassroots Advocacy Network, we can work together to move closer to a long-term solution that protects the care and services necessary for cancer patients and families across the country.

Finally, as the incoming chair of the Clinical Practice Committee, I would like to take this opportunity to thank some of the people who have worked very hard this year on issues of concern to the practicing oncologist. Outgoing CPC Chair Dean Gesme, MD, was a leader in the community this past year. On behalf of the entire cancer community, we are grateful for his tireless efforts on behalf of community oncologists and cancer patients.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank outgoing ASCO President David H. Johnson, MD, for his work in the past year on behalf of community oncologists. Dr. Johnson has been invaluable in helping to communicate our concerns to Congress and to the public at large. If you did not get a chance to attend Dr. Johnson’s Presidential Address, where he reviewed issues affecting the practicing oncologist, you can listen to it online through ASCO’s website.

As we are heading into a new year at ASCO, I look forward to working with ASCO’s new President, Sandra Horning, MD. A member of ASCO since 1983, Dr. Horning has served the Society in many capacities, including as a member of the Board of Directors and as Chair of the Cancer Education Committee and the Nominating Committee. Like Dr. Johnson, Dr. Horning is a cancer survivor and acutely attuned to the needs of our patients.


MMA in the Spotlight
As we have previously reported, we have been working with Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) and his staff to circulate a “Dear Colleague” letter to House Representatives, urging them to co-sponsor House Resolution 261.H Res. 261 commends CMS for creating the demonstration project and calls on CMS to extend the benefits of the project beyond 2005.

The Resolution, introduced May 4, currently has 14 co-sponsors and has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Health. ASCO urges you to contact your Representative to express your support for H Res. 261. Please ask YOUR House Member to sign on to this important Resolution to protect quality cancer care. You can find contact information for your Representative at ASCO’s Grassroots Action Center, at http://capwiz.com/asco.

Please contact ASCO’s Cancer Policy & Clinical Affairs Department with any questions at 703-299-1050 or publicpolicy@asco.org.



News and Notes
Annual Meeting Recap
ASCO’s 41^st Annual Meeting, which wrapped up last week in Orlando, Florida, offered a variety of breakout sessions addressing practice management issues. Members who were unable to attend the annual meeting can access all of the sessions online.

Journal of Oncology Practice Debuts at Annual Meeting
ASCO’s new Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP) made its official debut at the Annual Meeting. If you have not seen it yet, the inaugural issue should be arriving in your mailbox soon.The premier issue includes articles addressing:

• Implications of the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003
• Hospital outpatient prospective payment plans
• Medicare coverage of off-label use of drugs
• A report on the 2004 ASCO Clinical Trials for the Community Oncology Team Workshop
• An interview with Sean Tunis, MD, Chief Clinical Officer and Director, Office of Clinical Standards and Quality, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

You can view the JOP online at www.jopasco.org.  Look out for the next issue, coming in July, which will feature articles on Electronic Health Records and Practice Management Systems.

Upcoming Legislative Conference
ASCO will be holding its first annual Legislative Conference July 26-27, 2005 in Washington, DC.Day 1 will feature high-level speakers who will provide ASCO members with tools and resources that will help you effectively communicate and build long-term relationships with your elected officials.

Confirmed speakers to date include:

• Mark B. McClellan, MD, CMS Administrator
• Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA), Chair of the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee
• Lester Crawford, DVM, PhD, FDA Acting Commissioner

On the second day of the conference, ASCO will arrange meetings for you with your Representatives, so you can educate them about quality cancer care issues.

To register for the conference, please ASCO.org.

ASCO’s Reimbursement Hotline
If you need help with the new coding changes or the demonstration project, contact ASCO’s Coding and Reimbursement Hotline at 703-299-1054 or by email at practice@asco.org.