ASCO Develops New Physician Payment Reform Webpage and Four-part Educational Series

To help keep its members and the cancer community apprised and educated on the issue of payment reform, ASCO has developed a payment reform webpage and issued an ASCO in Action educational series. This four-part series is designed to help ASCO members better understand the complex issue of physician payment reform:  Part 1 provides an overview of the issue; Part 2 discusses the Sustainable Growth Rate formula; Part 3 provides details on the current buy and bill system of reimbursing for oncology drugs; and Part 4 discusses payment reform options being considered as alternatives to the current fee-for-service system. To read the series, go to ASCO’s physician payment reform page at www.asco.org/paymentreform.

Guideline on Central Venous Catheter Care

ASCO recently issued a guideline on central venous catheter care for people living with cancer. The guideline, which published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on March 4, addresses catheter type, insertion site, and placement, as well as the prevention and management of both catheter-related infection and thrombosis. To view the full guideline, please go to: www.asco.org/guidelines/cvc.

Affordable Care Act ‘Sunshine’ Rule

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently announced a final rule implementing Section 6002 of the Affordable Care Act (the “National Physician Payment Transparency Program: Open Payments”). The final rule, commonly called the “Sunshine” rule, will make information publicly available about payments or other transfers of value from applicable manufacturers to physicians and teaching hospitals (“covered recipients”), and about physician (or immediate family members of a physician) ownership or investment interests in applicable manufacturers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs).

Under this rule, applicable manufacturers must report annually to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary all payments or transfers of value (including gifts, consulting fees, research activities, speaking fees, meals, and travel) from applicable manufacturers to covered recipients. Applicable manufacturers and GPOs must also report ownership and investment interests held by physicians (or their immediate family members) in such entities. For additional details, please see the final rule at https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection. ■