Several members of the U.S. Senate sent a letter to the Obama administration last week opposing cuts in Medicare reimbursement for radiation therapy procedures.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) sent the letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stating their concern that proposed funding cuts could force freestanding and community-based cancer centers to shut down, especially in rural areas. The letter was signed by 32 U.S. senators.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) earlier this year proposed to reduce reimbursement for radiation therapy treatments as part of its Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for calendar year 2010. The proposal calls for overall cuts of 19% in radiation therapy payments starting January 1, and cuts in specific procedures could range from 20% to 44%.
The letter states that the proposal conflates radiation therapy with diagnostic imaging, which is also facing reimbursement cuts of its own due to concerns that imaging technology is overused. It also points out that radiation therapy is believed to be underutilized, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Related Reading
Senators oppose rad therapy cuts, September 28, 2009
Radiation oncology stages last-ditch rally against Medicare cuts, August 27, 2009
Survey: Radiation therapy equipment use far less than 90%, August 17, 2009
Flawed MedPAC survey drives debate on imaging payment cuts, August 11, 2009
ASTRO decries proposed rad therapy cuts, July 30, 2009
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