Members of Congress urge CMS not to change payments for radiation therapy

More than 200 members of Congress have signed letters urging CMS not to go through with the change to payments for radiation oncology services included in its 2016 Medicare Physician Free Schedule (MPFS) proposed rule.

Three separate letters were sent to CMS, including one from the Senate, one from the House of Representatives, and one from the Congressional Black Caucus.

“We recognize the valuable role community-based radiation therapy plays in meeting patients’ oncology needs and we are concerned that the proposed cuts could further jeopardize patient access to this treatment option,” the letter from the Senate—signed by a total of 40 U.S. senators—said.

When CMS released the MPFS proposed rule back in July, one of the proposals was changing an assumption involving the overall use of linear accelerators. This was because CMS believed the codes for radiation therapy were “potentially misvalued.”

Groups such as the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and Radiation Therapy Alliance (RTA) have come out against this change, saying it would result in payment cuts of approximately 3 percent for radiation oncology services and approximately 6 to 9 percent for freestanding cancer centers.

ASTRO’s statement from after the proposed rule was first announced can be found on the society’s website.

Earlier this week, the RTA issued a statement of its own supporting Congress for sending the letters to CMS.

"We applaud Senators Richard Burr and Debbie Stabenow and Representatives Devin Nunes, Paul Tonko and Robin Kelly for leading efforts in the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives and the Congressional Black Caucus to draw attention to these unjustifiable cuts and urge CMS to reconsider the proposed cuts and their negative impact on vulnerable cancer patients," Christopher Rose, MD, chair of the RTA Policy Committee, said in the statement.

A final rule from CMS on the 2016 MPFS is expected on or around Nov. 1.