NAVIGATION MAIN MENU

COMPENDIUM LIBRARY/TWITTER MONITOR
VIDEO GALLERY
Economic News
Newsbrief Archives
Democrat Leadership Twitter and Realtime Feeds
Cabinet twitter and realtime feeds
North America weblog
International weblog
Democrats twitter directory
Latest Government Jobs and Public Tenders
Jobs Matrix
Global Travel Information
Pop Entertainment Forum
Start Portal


Please make a donation to support upkeep of the daily news journal, back archives, twitter feeds and the compendium library.










Doctors Say Medicare Bill May Harm Cancer Care« Thread Start

Daily newsbrief journal for May 2004, also see http://www.usdemocrats.com/brief for a global 100-page perpetual brief and follow twitter @usdemocrats


Doctors Say Medicare Bill May Harm Cancer Care« Thread Start

Postby admin » Thu Jan 26, 2012 7:49 am

Doctors Say Medicare Bill May Harm Cancer Care« Thread Started on May 22, 2004, 11:23pm »--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Doctors Say Medicare Bill May Harm Cancer Care -- alt.politics, 18:42:14 11/25/03 Tue From: Gandalf Grey (gandalfgrey@infectedmail.com)Subject: Doctors Say Medicare Bill May Harm Cancer Care This is the only article in this thread View: Original Format Newsgroups: alt.current-events.clinton.whitewater, alt.current-events.wtc.bush-knew, alt.impeach.bush, alt.politics, alt.politics.bush, alt.politics.liberalism, alt.society.liberalism, talk.politics.miscDate: 2003-11-25 13:52:10 PST http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtm ... 21Medicare Bill May Harm Cancer Care, Doctors SayMon November 24, 2003 06:13 PM ETBy Lisa RichwineWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Medicare legislation pending in the U.S. Congressmay hinder senior citizens' access to cancer treatment next year by cuttingpayments for chemotherapy drugs, oncologists warned on Monday.The bill, which looks likely to pass Congress this week, reduces the way thegovernment calculates reimbursement rates for most chemotherapy and otherinjected drugs given in a doctor's office.But the measure increases payments to oncologists for other expensesalthough the American Society of Clinical Oncology, known as ASCO, said thehike is not enough to cover costs."This legislation may harm access to high-quality cancer care for manyelderly Americans," said Dr. Margaret Tempero, ASCO's president.ASCO had warned that earlier versions of the bill would cut about $500million, or about 30 percent, annually from U.S. cancer care.The group is calculating the impact of the new Medicare bill but expects thecuts to be "significant," said Deborah Kamin, ASCO's senior director forcancer policy and clinical affairs.ASCO plans to monitor the situation next year and possibly ask Congress forchanges, Kamin said.Medicare, the federal health insurance for the elderly and disabled, nowpays 95 percent of the "average wholesale price" that drug makers report tothe government.Congressional investigations found that price often was inflated andoncologists were keeping the "spread" between what they paid for themedicines and the Medicare reimbursement.Physicians said they needed the money to cover chemotherapy-related costs,such as salaries for specialized nurses, equipment and supplies, andcounseling. Medicare does not fully fund those costs, they said.Under the Medicare bill, the government would pay 85 percent of the averagewholesale price in 2004. In 2005, the program would base payments on a new"average sales price" that is supposed to reflect widely available marketprices.Supporters said they believed the bill included adequate payments tooncologists.Rep. Duke Cunningham, a California Republican and a cancer survivor, said hehad worried oncologists could not absorb the funding cuts. He voted for thebill after House Republican leaders agreed on the need to closely monitorthe measure's impact on cancer care and possibly make adjustments, he said."I am hopeful that the new funding methodology will not result in accessproblems for cancer patients," Cunningham said in a statement.
admin
Site Admin
 
Posts: 82092
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2009 7:00 am

Return to May 2004

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests