Oncology Newsfeed

CMS Begins Mailing Out New Medicare Cards

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has begun mailing its newly-designed Medicare cards with new Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers to newly eligible and current Medicare beneficiaries. Cards will be sent out on a rolling basis throughout 2018 to fulfill the CMS requirement to remove Social Security Numbers from all Medicare cards by April 2019.

CMS will host a special Open Door Forum on April 5, 12:30 – 1:30 PM EST, to share updates about the new Medicare card mailing, information on how people with Medicare can look up their new Medicare card number or print a replacement card, and updates on resources for partners. To participate, visit https://webinar.cms.hhs.gov/r51uia09fgq/ and use the following information:

• Dial-In Number: 1-800-837-1935
• Conference ID #: 7065199

Check cms.gov/newcard often for the most up-to-date information.

Posted 4/4/2018

ASTRO Updates Guideline for Palliative Lung Radiation

On April 4, the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) issued an update to its clinical guideline for the use of palliative-intent radiation therapy for patients with incurable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The updated guideline now recommends the addition of concurrent chemotherapy to radiation therapy for certain patients with incurable stage III NSCLC that are able to tolerate chemotherapy and have a longer life expectancy than three months, reflecting new evidence gathered from randomized clinical trials.

Read the press release from ASTRO here.

Posted 4/4/2018

CMS Reports 11.9 Million Enrolled in Health Insurance Exchanges

According to a tally released Tuesday, April 3, by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), about 11.8 million nationwide enrolled in Affordable Care Act (ACA) healthcare plans, a 3 percent drop from 12.2 million enrollees in 2017. This decrease in enrollment follows the Trump Administration’s cuts to insurance subsidy payments and ACA outreach and advertising, as well as a halving of the enrollment period from 12 to 6 weeks.

Read CMS’s final report on the 2018 open enrollment period here.

Posted 4/4/2018

CMS Issues Final Rule on CY2019 Policy Changes and Updates to MA, Part D

On April 2, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule to update Medicare Advantage (MA) and the Part D prescription drug benefit program. Included in the final rule, among additional changes, are:

• Codifying the methodology of Star Ratings for Part C and D programs
• Revising regulations that control maximum out-of-pocket and cost-sharing limits
• Limiting the Part D special enrollment period for dual or other LIS-eligible beneficiaries
• Changing the Medicare Advantage open enrollment period

Posted 4/3/2018

FDA Approves Blinatumomab for B-Cell Precursor ALL with MRD

CMS Extends MIPS 2017 Data Submission Deadline to April 3

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced that eligible clinicians participating in the Quality Payment Program (QPP) now have until Tuesday, April 3, 2018, at 8 PM EDT to submit their 2017 MIPS performance data. Eligible clinicans can submit their performance data using the new feature on the Quality Payment Program website.

Note: For groups that missed the March 16 CMS Web Interface data submission deadline, it’s not too late to submit your data through another mechanism.

How to Get Started
Go to qpp.cms.gov and click on “sign in” on the top right side of the web page. 

• Log into the Quality Payment Program data submission feature using your Enterprise Identity Management (EIDM) credentials user name and password. If you don’t have an EIDM account, you’ll need to obtain one. Review this EIDM user guide and get started with the process as soon as possible. Currently, you should allow at least 5 business days for EIDM requests to be processed.
• After logging in, the feature will connect you to the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) associated with your National Provider Identifier (NPI).
• You’ll be able to report data either as an individual or as a group. Be sure to login and get familiar with the feature before you submit your data.

For questions or help using the data submission feature, contact the Quality Payment Program by email at qpp@cms.hhs.gov or toll free at 1-866-288-8292.  

View the data submission fact sheet and this video to learn more about the Quality Payment Program data submission feature.

Posted 3/29/18

FDA Approves Nilotinib for Pediatric CML

USPSTF Issues Recommendation on Skin Cancer Prevention

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released its final recommendation statement on behavioral counseling to prevent skin cancer. The task force recommends counseling young adults, adolescents, children, and parents of young children about minimizing exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation for persons aged 6 months to 24 years with fair skin types to reduce their risk of skin cancer. The USPSTF recommendation comes with B grade.

Read the recommendation here.

Read the full article published March 20, 2018, in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Posted 3/21/18

CMS's OCM Team to Host May 3 Public Forum

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that the Oncology Care Model team will host a public forum for stakeholders on Thursday, May 3 from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM EDT.  All interested OCM stakeholders are invited to attend this public meeting, with the goal of hearing feedback about OCM. The meeting will include a brief introduction from the OCM team followed by discussion.

Registrants will be sent an agenda  one week prior to the meeting that will include compiled topics submitted via the text field in the registration form.

Attendees may attend virtually or in-person at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Central Office located at 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244.

Registration for in-person attendance will close at 5:00 PM EDT on April 26, 2018. Virtual registration will remain open until 1:00 PM EDT on Thursday May 3. Virtual attendees will receive call-in information in the registration confirmation email.

Additional information, including access to the registration link, is available on the Oncology Care Model - Stakeholder Feedback Public Forum web page.

Posted 3/20/2018

FDA Approves Adcetris Combined with Chemotherapy for First-Line Treatment of Stage III or IV Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

On March 20, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) to treat adult patients with previously untreated stage III or IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) in combination with chemotherapy.

Read the FDA announcement.