Change Healthcare, a healthcare technology company that is a business unit of Optum and owned by UnitedHealth Group, fell victim to a cyberattack on February 21, 2024. Regular updates on the situation are available for impacted customers on Optum’s website. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is assessing the oncology-specific impact of the attack and will keep its members up to date.
ASCO in Action provides the latest news and analysis related to critical policy issues affecting the cancer community, updates on the Association for Clinical Oncology’s ongoing advocacy efforts, and opportunities for members and others in the cancer care community to take action.
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April 19, 2024
April 12, 2024
On April 10, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS) proposed rule. The rule would update Medicare fee-for-service payment rates and policies for inpatient hospitals and LTCHs for FY 2025. Initial highlights of the proposal are included here.
March 18, 2024
President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, which included a +1.68% adjustment to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) conversion factor (CF) for the remainder of calendar year (CY) 2024. This increase results in a 1.68% reduction to the 3.37% CF cut finalized in the 2024 MPFS final Rule. The Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) advocated for Congress to address the full 3.37% Medicare physician reimbursement cut, and while ASCO appreciates congressional action, the Association is disappointed that Congress failed to eliminate the entire reimbursement cut.
February 27, 2024
This month, Members of Congress sent letters to Senate leadership urging the Senate to use upcoming government funding legislation to address the Medicare physician payment cuts that took effect on January 1. With the March government funding deadlines coming up, the letter requests that the House and Senate work together to include provisions that provide stability to physician payments. The Association for Clinical Oncology urged House and Senate members to sign the letters and continues to monitor efforts to address Medicare physician cuts.
January 16, 2024
The Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to two proposed rules: the 2025 Medicare Advantage and Part D proposed rule and the 2025 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters proposed rule. ASCO’s comments support provisions that address utilization management and health equity, which have the potential to improve access to care for the cancer community.
January 16, 2024
As of January 1, 2024, oncology practitioners can bill and receive Medicare payment for connecting patients to navigation services. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services adopted two billing codes for Principle Illness Navigation services: G0023 for the initial 60 minutes per patient per month, and G0024 to capture each additional 30 minutes per patient per month. The American Society of Clinical Oncology has received many inquiries about coding and billing for these new services and has made resources available for the oncology community.