The Community Oncology Alliance reports at least 30 community cancer clinics have closed during the past several months due to cuts in Medicare reimbursement for cancer care.
The most recent clinic to close, it said, is the Montgomery Cancer Center in Selma, Ala.
“We have been operating at a financial loss for some time because of the reimbursement cuts over the past few years,” said Harry M. Barnes, III, MD, of the Montgomery Cancer Center. “We will attempt to care for our Selma patients in our Montgomery office, but unfortunately, Selma cancer patients will no longer have access to chemotherapy in their own community.”
This closure poses a threat to indigent patients who have limited options for transportation, some of whom may not seek care or may have poorer outcomes, he said. Barnes’ Selma clinic had been in operation for more than 25 years.
COA officials say current healthcare reform plans don't address this issue or the impact to senior cancer patients on Medicare.
Robert Carroll of Gainesville, Fla., recently closed his oncology practice because of the financial losses that occur when oncologists purchase the expensive drugs needed for cancer chemotherapy, which is not fully covered by Medicare. Carroll said he owed more than $300,000 to cancer drug suppliers.
“I practiced cost-conscious medicine," Carroll said, “and avoided expensive drugs with marginal benefits. But the Medicare and private insurance reimbursement has become worse and worse. I cut staff and quit taking my own salary in November, but even that has not been enough.”
According to the COA, closed clinics have been reported in 24 states. Some have been sold to hospitals or large healthcare organizations. Rural practices and those with higher proportions of Medicare and Medicaid patients are particularly affected.
Medicare has cut payments for cancer care by more than 25 percent since 2004. The cuts for cancer drugs are 5 percent this year and will continue each year through 2013, when they are expected to be cut by close to 20 percent.
http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/cancer-clinics-closing-more-risk
