Hear suggestions for how to reduce financial hurdles and increase access to cancer diagnostics.
As soaring testing costs, coverage challenges, and heavy administrative overhead continue to impact access to guideline-concordant screening and biomarker testing, hear what multidisciplinary care teams need to know about mitigating the financial burden of cancer diagnostics. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Jan Nowak, MD, PhD, clinical chief of Molecular Pathologyat Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Alti Rahman, MHA, MBA, CSSBB, practice administrator at Oncology Consultants, and Jordan Karwedsky, financial counselor at St. Vincent Hospital Cancer Center Green Bay Oncology, on how to reduce financial hurdles and increase access to cancer diagnostics.
“Understanding how coverage decisions and policies are made will help identify gaps in those policies, which can then be addressed…understanding this process can also enable productive appeals to payment denials when they occur.” – Jan Nowak, MD, PhD
“The cancer screening process is a community-based approach; it is something that doesn’t just belong to the healthcare provider or health system realm–it is an approach taken to educate various communities on the importance of screening.” – Alti Rahman, MHA, MBA, CSSBB
This video podcast was produced in connection with the education program Cancer Diagnostics: Transforming Complex to Clear, with support by Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Lilly, and Merck.
Guests:
Financial Counselor:
Jordan Karwedsky
Financial Counselor
St. Vincent Hospital Cancer Center, Green Bay Oncology
Green Bay, WI
Clinician:
Jan Nowak, MD, PhD
Clinical Chief, Molecular Pathology,
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Buffalo, NY
Administrator:
Alti Rahman, MHA, MBA, CSSBB
Practice Administrator, Oncology Consultants
Houston, TX
Resources:
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s)/faculty member(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of their employer(s) or the Association of Cancer Care Centers.
July 8, 2026
June 30, 2026
At the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, the Louisiana Oncology Society received the ASCO Jeffrey C Ward Affiliate Advocacy Award for advancing critical advocacy priorities that have translated into meaningful legislative victories. The Iowa Oncology Society and Washington State Medical Oncology Society were also recognized for their advocacy efforts in 2025 at the meeting, receiving second place awards.
