CPC Leadership Meets with Congressional Leaders in Washington
Last week, members of ASCO’s Clinical Practice Committee Steering Subcommittee met with nearly 30 offices on Capitol Hill and Members of Congress, including members of the Republican Leadership, to talk about how the MMA changes are affecting their practices, particularly with regard to payment for services and underwater drugs. ASCO community oncologist members met with legislative staffers in House and Senate offices and spoke personally to many Congressional leaders, including: At these meetings, ASCO members encouraged their representatives to support H.R. 5179, legislation introduced in the House earlier in the week by Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) that makes changes to the Medicare drug reimbursement system, to ensure that critical chemotherapy drugs remain available to cancer patients.

Meetings such as these provide excellent opportunities to strengthen the relationships that ASCO members already have with their Congressional members and their staffs and also to develop new relationships. These meetings ensure that our passion and dedication to the advancement of quality cancer care and the voice of ASCO members are heard. The oncologists who came to Washington felt it was time well spent.

"I was very impressed with how much the legislators care about our issues," said Edward Balaban, DO, a community oncologist in Wexford, Pa., who met with Sen. Santorum. "I walked out of my meetings feeling like I had accomplished something by educating our leaders in Congress about the concerns of community oncologist."

"The Members of Congress and staff that I spoke to were very interested in hearing from ASCO members on the issues that are facing practicing oncologists," added Denis Hammond, MD, a community oncologist practicing in Hooksett, N.H., who met with Rep. Bradley.

By working with our supporters and leaders on Capitol Hill and within the cancer community, we will continue to advance legislative strategies that will enable oncology practices to provide quality cancer care to all of our patients.

Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) Introduces Bill to Ensure Patient Access to Chemotherapy Drugs
As mentioned above, last week Rep. Hall introduced H.R. 5179, "Revision of Payment Methodology for Drugs and Biologicals." H.R. 5179 would give Medicare the authority to adjust drug prices when a significant number of practices cannot purchase drugs at the current payment rate, 106% of ASP. Medicare currently does not have this authority. The bill also would remove the prompt pay discounts offered to distributors and wholesalers from the ASP formula to better reflect the market prices available to physicians.

ASCO thanks Rep. Hall for his continuing commitment to quality cancer care and for his leadership on H.R. 5179. ASCO urges others in the cancer community who share the vision for sustainable long-term solutions to support the efforts of Rep. Hall. Please contact your Member of Congress to ask him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 5179. You can find the contact information for your Representative at http://capwiz.com/asco.

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

CMS Estimates SGR Cuts in 2007
Last month, CMS informed the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) that the Medicare program is projecting a 4.6% cut for all physician payments next year.

This projected cut is a result of the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR), the formula by which Medicare determines annual increases for physician payments.  A similar cut was projected for 2006 until Congress acted early this year to freeze physician payments. Congress has long expressed dissatisfaction with the current SGR formula and would have to act again this year to avert a cut. 

ASCO will continue to work with Members of Congress to urge them to fix the SGR and provide physicians with a positive update for 2007.  We will continue to update you as developments arise. 

ASCO/AAMC Oncologist Workforce Survey
You may have been selected to participate in an important oncologist workforce survey being conducted by ASCO and the Association of American Medical College's Center for Workforce Studies.  Results from the study will help determine future oncology workforce needs and inform planning. The survey includes questions on:

• Your practice and patient volume
• Job satisfaction/feelings of burnout
• Use of nurse practitioners and physician assistants
• Views on approaches to assuring future access to oncology care

It is very important that you complete the survey if you are selected. The survey will be administered this January and summary results will be reported at the 2006 ASCO Annual Meeting. If you have any questions, please contact Suanna Bruinooge in ASCO's Cancer Policy & Clinical Affairs Department at bruinoos@asco.org.

News and Notes
CAP Vendor Selected
Last week, CMS announced that BioScrip would be the sole Competitive Acquisition Program (CAP) vendor. For more information, go to CMS’ website.  

Join Us at ASCO’s Annual Meeting
We are looking forward to seeing many of you at the ASCO Annual Meeting next month, June 2-6, 2006 in Atlanta, GA. This is a good opportunity for you to network with your colleagues and attend educational sessions that will provide you with information to help your practice. This year, the "Practice Management and Professional Issues" track will highlight reimbursement and quality care issues. For more detailed information, search ASCO’s 2006 Online Pocket Program.