Cancer Care Associates, Oklahoma City, OK

Our nation is in a predicament as over 48+ million people are uninsured.  The cost of purchasing and providing affordable healthcare continues to increase.  Congress has the daunting task of revising the approach to funding and paying for quality, not quantity driven, medical care in the midst of this crisis.   What does this mean for cancer patients?   The United States has the best documented cancer care in the world!  The advancement of treatment and quality of life has improved exponentially over the last decade.  These improvements have been made by the oncology community striving towards a common mission- support quality patient care as the highest priority by providing the resources and services needed to intervene and promote the best evidence based outcome.   In many ways, the oncology community is way ahead of the curve related to the national initiative to reduce the costs and provide quality care.  Rigorous clinical research has produced proven evidence based national guidelines recognized by American Society of Clinical Oncology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network as the basis by which to effectively treat many cancers.     

Cancer Care Associates supports balanced healthcare reform.  Healthcare reform, however, has to correct the problems, not exacerbate them! Ø      The Medicare reimbursement system for cancer care services is brokenØ      Medicare’s broken reimbursement system is not appropriate to use as the basis for payment under any public insurance option created by CongressØ      Congress and CMS need to work with the oncology community to ensure patients retain access to the integrated delivery system of cancer care that makes the U.S. #1 care provider in the world today.    84% of all cancer patients in the U.S. are treated in physician offices like Cancer Care Associates.  It is critical that healthcare reform sustain all patients’ access to quality cancer care.  Fix Cancer Care-don’t break it any further!   Contact your congressional leaders at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov Thank you,The Physicians and Staff of Cancer Care Associates