FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Don Jewler, ACCC Communications Director
301.984.9496, ext. 208
djewler@accc-cancer.org
For Immediate Release: March 4, 2005
CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, to Address Attendees at ACCC's 31st Annual National Meeting
ROCKVILLE, MD—
Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), will deliver the keynote address at the 31st Annual National Meeting of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) on March 9, 2005, at 9:00 am at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Alexandria, Va. Dr. McClellan will discuss payment changes to the Medicare physician fee schedule and hospital outpatient department, and the impact of these changes on hospitals or practices.
Following his address, open discussions with a distinguished panel of experts will focus on several key issues:
- Additional payment relief for physicians and hospitals contemplated by lawmakers and regulators
- Challenges facing CMS in implementing changes required by law
- Emerging strategies to help physicians and hospitals manage drug and other health care costs
- Potential impact on provider and patient access with the introduction of the competitive acquisition program (CAP) in 2006.
Panel members will include:
- Carol Bazell, Medical Officer, Hospital and Ambulatory Policy Group, CMS
- Pat Bousliman, Medicare Professional Staff, Senate Finance Committee (Minority)
- Joelle Oishi, Health Policy Advisory, Senate Finance Committee (Majority)
- Stephen Phillips, CMS Director, Division of Practitioner Services, CMS.
The moderator will be Thomas A. Ault, Principal, Health Policy Alternatives, Washington, D.C.
The Association of Community Cancer Centers provides a national forum for addressing issues that affect community cancer programs, such as regulatory and legislative issues, measurements of the quality of care, and clinical research. Its unique membership of more than 650 hospital cancer programs and oncology private practices includes all members of the cancer care team: medical and radiation oncologists, surgeons, cancer program administrators and medical directors, oncology nurses, pharmacists, radiation therapists, oncology social workers, and cancer program data managers.
