ACRO CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION BY DECEMBER 31 TO STOP CMS CUTS
Radiation oncologists are facing a 20% cut
ACRO supports H.R. 6048 and Tri-Caucus letter to Speaker Pelosi
WASHINGTON, DC — Following the Tri-Caucus letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling for Congress to instruct “CMS not to proceed with the implementation of the clinical labor update,” the American College of Radiation Oncology (ACRO) is asking Congress to move quickly to avoid cuts to radiation therapy.
For office-based radiation oncologists, the clinical labor cuts being implemented by CMS account for the vast majority of the more than 20% in cuts for freestanding radiation therapy centers. This is why ACRO supports the bipartisan Medicare Stability for Patients and Providers Act (H.R. 6048) to reverse the CMS cuts.
This bipartisan legislation would stop the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from implementing the updated clinical labor policy in the 2022 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). The pending clinical labor policy changes are currently set to be one of many cuts that providers could see in 2022, including those related to the end of the sequester moratorium and the phase-in of certain cuts tied to changes in evaluation and management pay under the physician fee schedule.
Joanne Dragun, MD, FACRO, President of the American College of Radiation Oncology, said, “We applaud the efforts of the Tri-Caucus to draw attention to this critical issue and urge Congress to take immediate action to pass H.R. 6048 by December 31. It’s essential for radiation therapy centers to keep their doors open and provide cancer patients with the best possible care.”
Dr Dragun continued, “Failing to reverse these CMS cuts will further the health equity gap for cancer patients. Data shows that Black men are 111 percent more likely to die of prostate cancer and Black women are 39 percent more likely to die of breast cancer; this is just one example of how these cuts hit underserved communities the hardest.”
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