The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced that it has selected Compass Oncology as one of nearly 200 physician group practices and 17 health insurance companies to participate in a care delivery model that supports and encourages higher quality, more coordinated cancer care. Compass Oncology is the largest multi-specialty medical practice in the Pacific Northwest dedicated solely to providing state-of-the-art, comprehensive care for patients with cancer or diseases of the blood.The Medicare arm of the Oncology Care Model includes more than 3,200 oncologists and will cover approximately 155,000 Medicare beneficiaries nationwide.
Cancer is one of the most common and devastating diseases in the United States: more than 1.6 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed and cancer will kill an estimated 600,000 Americans in 2016. According to the National Institutes of Health, based on growth and aging of the U.S. population, medical expenditures for cancer in the year 2020 are projected to reach at least $158 billion (in 2010 dollars) – an increase of 27 percent over 2010. A significant proportion of those diagnosed are over 65 years old and Medicare beneficiaries.
“The Oncology Care Model encourages greater collaboration, information sharing, and care coordination, so that patients get the care they need, when they need it,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. “This patient-centered care model fits within the Administration’s dual missions for delivery system reform and the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force – to improve patient access to and the quality of health care while spending dollars more wisely.”
The Oncology Care Model encourages practices to improve care and lower costs through episode- and performance-based payments that reward high-quality patient care. The Oncology Care Model is one of the first CMS physician-led specialty care models and builds on lessons learned from other innovative programs and private-sector models. As part of this model, physician practices may receive performance-based payments for episodes of care surrounding chemotherapy administration to Medicare patients with cancer, as well as a monthly care management payment for each beneficiary.
Some of the practices selected to participate in the OCM have also been actively engaged in an internal program developed by The US Oncology Network to prepare for the OCM by building and testing processes that will be required for success. This internal program reinforces the commitments made by McKesson Specialty Health and The US Oncology Network to help oncologists deliver high-quality care and navigate through an ever-changing healthcare landscape.
Through its affiliation with the US Oncology network, Compass Oncology has been actively engaged in an internal program developed by The US Oncology Network to prepare for the OCM by building and testing processes that will be required for success. This internal program reinforces its commitment to deliver high-quality, evidence-based cancer care.
CONTACT:
Athena Maris
for Compass Oncology
503.957.1565
About Compass Oncology
Compass Oncology is the largest multi-specialty medical practice in the Pacific Northwest dedicated solely to providing state-of-the-art, comprehensive care for patients with cancer or diseases of the blood. Compass oncologists are at the forefront of discovery. As a member of The US Oncology Network, one of the nation’s largest community-based cancer treatment and research networks, Compass Oncology participates in leading-edge clinical trials through US Oncology Research, which has helped develop more than 50 FDA approved cancer drugs, nearly one third of all approved cancer therapies.