We know many of you have been struggling with getting your patients the treatments they need due to ongoing drug shortages. ASCO has been working with policymakers on the current state of oncology drug shortages and we need your help! A bipartisan group of Representatives are circulating a “Dear Colleague Letter” addressed to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf sharing concerns and asking the FDA to identify additional flexibilities and authorities needed to prevent or mitigate future shortages.

Please ask your Representative to sign the letter and urge your Senators to work with their colleagues to take steps to mitigate drug shortages!

By prohibiting co-pay assistance funds from applying toward patient premiums and deductibles, co-pay accumulators negate the intended benefit of patient assistance programs and remove a safety net for patients who need specialty medications but cannot afford them. Contact your lawmakers to cosponsor the HELP Copays Act to end these harmful practices and address high out of pocket costs for patients.

ASCO and the broader medical community are asking Congress to take steps that will streamline the prior authorization process within the Medicare Advantage program, including:

• Creating an electronic prior authorization process.
• Holding plans accountable for the timeliness of determinations.
• Improving transparency by requiring plans to report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the extent of their prior authorization use.
• Prohibiting additional prior authorization for added medically necessary services performed during an invasive procedure that already received prior authorization.

Contact your lawmakers to sign the Dear Colleague letters urging CMS to streamline prior authorization requirements in Medicare Advantage.

Right now, members of Congress are negotiating their next budget bill. Make sure they know cancer research and prevention needs to be a priority.  Send a message to your members of Congress today!

Thanks to sustained federal funding for cancer research over the past few decades, we have made significant progress in understanding cancer and how best to treat it. But significant isn’t enough; we can’t stop now.

Additional funding for cancer research means scientists can do even more in their work to find new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. And it means more hope for those facing the disease, now and in the future.

Physician members of the House of Representatives recently introduced legislation to address physician Medicare reimbursement not keeping up with the growing rate of inflation. Representatives Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN), Raul Ruiz, MD (D-CA), Marionette Miller-Meeks, MD (R-IA) and Ami Bera, MD (D-CA) introduced H.R. 2474, which aims to provide annual inflationary updates based on the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) for Medicare physician services to ensure reimbursements are more aligned with economic inflation rates. For years, physician reimbursement under Medicare has not remained consistent with the rise in inflation, leading to payment instability across all physician specialties. While there are other concerns with the Medicare physician payment system that still need to be addressed, this legislation is the first step toward improving financial stability in physician practices, which will allow them to invest in how they deliver high-quality care. ASCO applauds Congress’ action to address this issue and joined many other physician organizations to sign on to a letter of support for the legislation. ASCO will work with the physician community to gain support for this legislation and to advance other policy solutions to improve the Medicare payment system. Join in our advocacy efforts! Write to your lawmaker via the ACT Network urging them to cosponsor H.R. 2474.