Leah Ralph

In August, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released its much-anticipated “mega-guidance” on the 340B Drug Pricing Program, proposing new limits on the program but stopping short of a complete overhaul, which prompted mixed reviews from healthcare stakeholders. The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) has long advocated for more clarity in the program, and we commend HRSA for taking this important step amid legal challenges and congressional pressure. Read More ›

Recent months have brought unprecedented momentum on an issue physicians and Congress have been struggling with for more than a decade: repealing the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. Read More ›

On February 12, the US Department of Health & Human Services announced its much-anticipated Oncology Care Model, developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Innovation Center as part of the broader effort to lower healthcare costs and tie reimbursement to quality and value. The Association of Community Cancer Centers has been conducting an in-depth analysis, and the model generally looks similar to the discussion draft made available in August last year; although the model contains many positive elements, many questions still remain. Read More ›

On February 12, the US Department of Health & Human Services announced its much-anticipated Oncology Care Model, developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Innovation Center as part of the broader effort to lower healthcare costs and tie reimbursement to quality and value. Read More ›

There has been renewed focus in recent years on moving healthcare reimbursement from a system that incentivizes volume to one that incentivizes value. Largely an effort to rein in costs, particularly those related to Medicare, this trend has cropped up in every major healthcare law in the past decade, from the Medicare Modernization Act in 2003 to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010. In fact, the ACA allocated $10 billion to the new Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, whose purpose is to develop and test innovative ways to pay providers. Even last year’s bipartisan, bicameral sustainable growth rate legislation ultimately tied payment updates to participation in some form of alternative payment arrangement. Read More ›

The 2014 elections are complete, and we now know the makeup of the next US Congress. Even though Republicans picked up more than the 6 seats needed to take control of the Senate, it may not mean that significant healthcare changes are imminent. As the congressional landscape transforms, legislators will have to address the following issues. Read More ›

The 2014 elections are complete, and we now know the makeup of the next US Congress. Even though Republicans picked up more than the 6 seats needed to take control of the Senate, it may not mean that significant healthcare changes are imminent. As the congressional landscape transforms, legislators will have to address the following issues. Read More ›