On August 1, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long‑Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS) final rule. In addition to updating Medicare payment rates and policies for inpatient hospitals in FY 2024, the rule aims to advance health equity and support underserved communities.

Prior to leaving Washington, D.C., to spend the August recess in their states and districts, members of Congress engaged in a flurry of July activity on issues the Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is tracking closely.

The American Medical Association (AMA) will conduct a Practice Information Survey, to collect data on practice expenses and hours spent on patient care. The data will be shared with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and directly impact Medicare physician reimbursement. The survey is being distributed to a very limited number of practices and physicians, making every response crucial to providing CMS with valid data, so please take the survey if you receive it.

On July 20, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration approved quizartinib (Vanflyta, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.) with standard cytarabine and anthracycline induction and cytarabine consolidation, and as maintenance monotherapy following consolidation chemotherapy, for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that is FLT3 internal tandem duplication (ITD)-positive, as detected by an FDA-approved test.

The Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) responded to a bicameral Request for Information (RFI) on the underlying factors driving drug shortages. The Association’s comments highlighted the impact of the shortages on patient care and pointed to economic failures and supply chain vulnerabilities that have led to shortages of critical oncology drugs for more than a decade.

On July 7, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposed rule to reimburse hospitals that were underpaid under the 340B drug pricing program since 2018.  

ASCO is continuing to collaborate with State Affiliates and outside stakeholders to raise awareness and facilitate implementation of the CLINICAL TREATMENT Act, which requires all states and territories to cover and reimburse routine costs of care for treating a Medicaid enrollee who is participating in a qualifying clinical trial.