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As community cancer care providers who experience first-hand the challenges of providing quality cancer care, ACCC members are the best positioned to educate decision-makers on how coverage and reimbursement issues affect community oncology.

ACCC provides members with the information and resources needed to effectively advocate on the issues that are important to them. Together, we can positively influence the future of community oncology.

 

 

Letters to Congress

Leading by Example


January 04, 2021
Lead by Example_Woman Holding Sign

Upon the approval of the first vaccines to combat COVID-19 in the U.S., the American Board of Internal Medicine launched an effort to encourage physicians to publicly share their own vaccinations in an attempt to demonstrate the importance of doing so. “We know that there is an enormous amount of vaccine skepticism in the general population and even among colleagues in health care,” ABIM states in a recent blog post to its members. “We also know that, in order for there to be impact in fighting this pandemic, upwards of 70% of the population needs to take it. As a board-certified physician, the decisions you make about being immunized will have an impact on the decisions made by your patients, your families, and your colleagues.” 


The initiative urges physicians to join a coordinated campaign on major social media platforms to promote the importance of vaccination against COVID-19. Doctors have subsequently taken to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to post selfies of themselves getting vaccinated and encouraging others to do the same. Robert D. Siegel, MD, chair of ABIM's Medical Oncology Board, says that while these selfies promote the importance of vaccination, the aim of the overall initiative is wider. “We are also trying to underscore the important of science,” says Dr. Siegel. “An anti-science attitude is pervasive right now, and it is being stirred up by current politics. This creates a terrible environment for physicians. For us at ABIM, it is important to underscore that science is real, facts are facts, and we need to be listening to what researchers are telling us.”

Leading by Example_Example 
Dr. Siegel, who is a board-certified internist, he
matologist, and medical oncologist, says it is particularly important for cancer care providers to be vaccinated. “We deal with a particularly vulnerable population,” he explains. “To the extent that anyone has the potential to bring this virus unwittingly into an environment with individuals who are immunosuppressed, the importance of vaccination is clear. We need to protect our patients and ourselves.”


Dr. Siegel also emphasizes the importance of vaccinating the entire cancer care team. He says that where he practices, staff who have inpatient responsibilities are being vaccinated, but the support staff who also come into contact with patients currently are not. “The vaccination effort will be limited by different state and regional roll-out plans,” says Dr. Siegel, “so right now, for many places, logistics are dictating who is vaccinated and when.” 


Dr. Siegel says that as a well-respected certification body for physicians across all specialties in internal medicine, ABIM is uniquely suited to demonstrate a physician’s decision to be vaccinated as emblematic of the importance of protecting oneself against this terrible virus. “We try to espouse professionalism in the physician community,” explains Dr. Siegel, “and we felt that being front and center of the vaccination effort would convey its importance to everyone.”

Enhancing Oncology Model

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a new, voluntary alternative payment model, the Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM), that will allow ACCC programs to improve care coordination and health outcomes for patients, as well as deliver high-quality and affordable cancer care to the communities they serve.
Learn More

Cancer Moonshot

Read ACCC's history with the Cancer Moonshot initiative and how we plan to continue to support the White House through resources and tools on cancer prevention for underserved and marginalized patient populations.
Read More

Advocacy News Releases

Featured Programs

The ACCC Alternative Payment Model Coalition addresses concerns about lack of preparedness to perform under Alternative Payment Models, patient and provider access to the latest treatments, infrastructure, and long-term sustainability.

The Oncology State Societies at ACCC Advocacy Engagement Pilot will establish a policy communication and learning infrastructure in nine states—Colorado, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin—to address pressing policy issues that impact patient care and provider access. This work will focus on legislative efforts, standards of care, and health equity.

White Bagging

The Association of Community Cancer Centers and its Chapter Members from the Oncology State Societies at ACCC have developed resources for cancer care professionals to learn about the practice of white bagging, its deleterious effects on patient care, and how to take action against it.
View Resources

CMS Releases CY 2023 Medicare Payment Final Rules

On November 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the CY 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Final Rules, finalizing the agency's new reimbursement policies taking effect January 1, 2023. ACCC will host a virtual in-depth review of these final rules and their anticipated impact on oncology programs and practices as part of our 2022 Oncology Reimbursement Meetings. Register for the upcoming webinar on December 13 and view the final rules and their corresponding CMS fact sheets below:
Webinar Registration

CY 2023 Medicare Payment Resource

This member-exclusive resource provides a high-level summary of Medicare coding and reimbursement policies finalized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in its calendar year (CY) 2023 rulemaking cycle. Highlights include Medicare policy changes included in the CY 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) and Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS) final rules, including updates to the Medicare Quality Payment Program (QPP).

Download Resource (Member Login Required)

CY 2023 Medicare Proposed Rules Announced

On-Demand Webinar: The 2023 Medicare PFS and OPPS Proposed Rules: What You Need to Know

Learn about the key proposals in the CY 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rules and how these proposed changes to Medicare payment will impact oncology practices, freestanding cancer centers, and hospital-based cancer programs in 2023. There will be an opportunity for live Q&A.

Speakers: 
Teri Bedard, BA, RT(R)(T), CPC
Executive Director, Client & Corporate Resources
Revenue Cycle Coding Strategies, Inc

Matt Devino, MPH
Director, Cancer Care Delivery and Health Policy
Association of Community Cancer Centers
View On-Demand Recording

 

On July 7, CMS issued the (CY) 2023 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule, which would significantly expand access to behavioral health services, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), cancer screening, and dental care—particularly in rural and underserved areas.
Read the Letter  Fact Sheet

On July 15, CMS issues the (CY) 2023 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule. In addition to proposing payment rates, this year’s rule includes proposals that align with several key goals of the Administration, including advancing health equity in rural areas, promoting competition in the health care system, and promoting safe, effective, and patient-centered care. The proposed rule would further the agency’s commitment to strengthening Medicare and use the lessons learned from the COVID-19 PHE to inform the approach to quality measurement.
Read the Letter  Federal Register Download

 

ACCC Principles for Drug, Diagnostics, and Biomarker Reimbursement

ACCC believes that to improve the current treatment options available for patients at the lowest cost without decreasing access to care, the following four principles should be taken into consideration.

Any proposed changes in reimbursement for drugs, diagnostics, and biomarker testing should decrease health inequities and not negatively impact the ability of cancer programs and practices to provide necessary supportive care services for potentially disadvantaged patients.
Read the Principles

Cancer Buzz Podcasts

  • Live from NOC: ACCC Priorities for the President’s Cancer Panel - [MINI PODCAST]
    Oct 10, 2023

    ACCC was invited to share the association’s key priorities for impacting cancer care in the US. ACCC president Olalekan Ajayi, PharmD, MBA, and chief operating officer at Highlands Oncology Group, PA, discusses the meeting and these initiatives.

  • Combatting Caregiver Isolation Through Awareness and Education — [MINI PODCAST] EP 130
    Aug 29, 2023

    "Many caregivers have it together, they’re on top of everything. They are organized, they are experts at this, but they are falling apart inside. You aren’t going to know if you don’t ask."

  • Pharmacy Benefit Managers: How Advocacy Led to Action [PODCAST] Ep 85
    Jun 28, 2022

    Listen to ACCC's Matt Devino and President of the Empire State Hematology & Oncology Society, Rahul Seth, DO, discuss why every voice is critical in grassroots advocacy efforts on both the federal and state level, and how cancer professionals who moonlight as patient advocates can help improve access to care and reduce financial toxicity for people living with cancer.

  • [MINI-PODCAST] Ep 79: State Advocacy Matters
    Mar 22, 2022

    Learn how state oncology societies have the power to mobilize larger groups of providers across the state to make their voices heard on behalf of their patients—and how you can get involved.   

  • [PODCAST] Ep 73: Biomarker Testing Advocacy
    Dec 7, 2021

    Biomarker testing is crucial to precision medicine, but barriers still exist. Learn from two healthcare advocates about recent policy changes designed to ensure better access to biomarker testing.

  • [MINI-PODCAST] Ep 72: Genetic Counseling Advocacy
    Nov 30, 2021

    Hear from Colleen Campbell, PhD, MS, LGC, as she explains policy changes that can help patients access genetic counseling services, while also benefiting those who provide these services. 

  • [PODCAST] Ep 56: What Comes Next for Telehealth?
    Apr 27, 2021

    We'll discuss the telehealth regulatory and policy changes enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, what may change in 2021, and what’s likely to remain the same regarding the reimbursement of remote care. 

Leading by Example


January 04, 2021
Lead by Example_Woman Holding Sign

Upon the approval of the first vaccines to combat COVID-19 in the U.S., the American Board of Internal Medicine launched an effort to encourage physicians to publicly share their own vaccinations in an attempt to demonstrate the importance of doing so. “We know that there is an enormous amount of vaccine skepticism in the general population and even among colleagues in health care,” ABIM states in a recent blog post to its members. “We also know that, in order for there to be impact in fighting this pandemic, upwards of 70% of the population needs to take it. As a board-certified physician, the decisions you make about being immunized will have an impact on the decisions made by your patients, your families, and your colleagues.” 


The initiative urges physicians to join a coordinated campaign on major social media platforms to promote the importance of vaccination against COVID-19. Doctors have subsequently taken to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to post selfies of themselves getting vaccinated and encouraging others to do the same. Robert D. Siegel, MD, chair of ABIM's Medical Oncology Board, says that while these selfies promote the importance of vaccination, the aim of the overall initiative is wider. “We are also trying to underscore the important of science,” says Dr. Siegel. “An anti-science attitude is pervasive right now, and it is being stirred up by current politics. This creates a terrible environment for physicians. For us at ABIM, it is important to underscore that science is real, facts are facts, and we need to be listening to what researchers are telling us.”

Leading by Example_Example 
Dr. Siegel, who is a board-certified internist, he
matologist, and medical oncologist, says it is particularly important for cancer care providers to be vaccinated. “We deal with a particularly vulnerable population,” he explains. “To the extent that anyone has the potential to bring this virus unwittingly into an environment with individuals who are immunosuppressed, the importance of vaccination is clear. We need to protect our patients and ourselves.”


Dr. Siegel also emphasizes the importance of vaccinating the entire cancer care team. He says that where he practices, staff who have inpatient responsibilities are being vaccinated, but the support staff who also come into contact with patients currently are not. “The vaccination effort will be limited by different state and regional roll-out plans,” says Dr. Siegel, “so right now, for many places, logistics are dictating who is vaccinated and when.” 


Dr. Siegel says that as a well-respected certification body for physicians across all specialties in internal medicine, ABIM is uniquely suited to demonstrate a physician’s decision to be vaccinated as emblematic of the importance of protecting oneself against this terrible virus. “We try to espouse professionalism in the physician community,” explains Dr. Siegel, “and we felt that being front and center of the vaccination effort would convey its importance to everyone.”