Nearly 100 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) members met with congressional representatives on May 24, urging them to secure sustainable cancer funding and to protect patients' access to cancer care.
The meetings were part of ASTRO's 13th annual Advocacy Day. Society members emphasized four priorities as they spoke to lawmakers:
- Invest in cancer research with sustainable and predictable funding.
- Stabilize Medicare payments while developing innovative models of physician reimbursement.
- End physician self-referral abuse.
- Preserve funding and residency slots for graduate medical education.
"ASTRO's advocacy efforts since 2009 have prevented more than $500 million in proposed Medicare payment cuts to radiation oncology, and we've helped pass legislation that brings some much-needed payment stability to doctors across the discipline through 2018," said ASTRO chair Dr. Bruce Minsky in a statement. "ASTRO is leading the way to develop alternative payment models for radiation oncology that will support the delivery of high-value, high-quality care for our patients."
