The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) lambasted the recent release of Medicare payment data to physicians as "misleading, confusing, and potentially harmful to cancer patients."
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 9 released data that detailed Medicare payment amounts to specific physicians. The move immediately drew criticism from organized medicine.
COA said the information was incomplete, biased, and an unrepresentative sample of Medicare reimbursement claims data submitted by oncologists. The "invalid" assessment of oncologist productivity was potentially the most harmful element of the data because it can compound the challenges and decisions facing seniors and other cancer patients, according to the organization.
