ICYMI: Highlights From the 2023 Community Oncology Conference

Our top coverage from this year’s Community Oncology Conference, hosted by the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), included discussions around alternative payment models, shifts in the community oncology landscape in recent decades, and the need for reform in several areas, including pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices, 340B drug discounts, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

5. Ben Jones: Collaboration Between CMMI, Providers, Practices Needed for EOM

Ben Jones, vice president of Government Relations and Public Policy at the US Oncology Network, discussed a range of issues raised at the 2023 Community Oncology Conference in an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®). While many themes took shape at this year’s meeting, including discussions around the cost of care and the potential for value-based approaches, Jones highlighted conversations around PBMs and the Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM) as crucial topics in community oncology.

Read the full article here.

4. Dr Debra Patt: Consolidation and New Advanced Therapies in Oncology

In an interview with AJMC, Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president at Texas Oncology, discussed changes that community oncology has gone through in recent decades, including consolidation of practices driven by market shifts aligning with large hospital systems. Patt also gave insight into the remarkable strides in cancer therapeutics in the same time frame, such as immunotherapies and targeted therapies.

Read the full interview here.

3. As Decision Time on EOM Nears, Lots of Questions From COA Panel

Payment reform has been a hot topic in the oncology space in recent years, but a panel at the 2023 COA Community Oncology Conference raised a number of concerns around the EOM, an alternative payment model that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation launched in July of 2023. While many attendees at the meeting had hoped to say “yes” to the EOM—which hadn’t yet begun at the time—many of the model’s parameters, including practices taking on downside risk from the start, elicited frustration from panelists.

Read the full article here.

2. COA: An Advocacy Group Born in Crisis Looks Back at 20 Years

COA marked its 20th year at the annual Community Oncology Conference, and the opening session of the meeting welcomed back former presidents and highlighted the early days of the group’s work on Capitol Hill. While policies have changed and the group’s impact has grown in the 20 years since its inception, it retains the spirit of an upstart advocacy group in many ways, its leaders said. A panel discussion on the value of community oncology rounded out the session.

Read the full article here.

1. Could This Be the Year for PBM Reform? COA Panel Weighs in

A group of Capitol Hill experts took part in discussions around PBMs, the IRA, and 340B reform, highlighting areas that have finally become topics of “mainstream conversation” thanks in part to COA’s efforts. While COA leaders have long been working to raise awareness of alarming practices by PBMs, bipartisan awareness of said practices has only recently come to a point at which Congress might act, according to the panelists. The discussion also highlighted potential impacts of the IRA on providers, as well as the need to ensure that 340B drug discounts are pulled through to patients.

Read the full article here.