The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for community oncology practices and, most importantly, the patients they serve. The mission of COA is to ensure that cancer patients receive quality, affordable, and accessible cancer care in their own communities. More than 1.5 million people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer each year and deaths from the disease have been steadily declining due to earlier detection, diagnosis, and treatment.
Community Oncology Reacts to Trump's Drug Pricing Executive Order
May 2nd 2025An executive order signed on Tuesday, March 15, necessitated a change in plans for this panel discussion from the 2025 Community Oncology Conference, with the assembled experts, moderated by Ted Okon, MBA, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance, speaking to how the order would reverberate across the community oncology space.
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Advancing the Art of Medicine Through Partnership
April 29th 2025Oncology leaders from Alliance Cancer Specialists, American Oncology Network, CHI St. Vincent, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and New York Cancer & Blood Specialists discussed the power of collaboration in cancer care, highlighting partnerships that enhance patient outcomes and resource sharing in community practices.
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House Unanimously Passes Seniors’ Access to Critical Medications Act
September 25th 2024The House of Representatives unanimously passed the bipartisan Seniors’ Access to Critical Medications Act (HR 5526), which would reverse CMS restrictions on mail delivery of cancer medications to Medicare beneficiaries.
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New FTC Lawsuit Against PBMs Has Broad Implications for Pharmaceuticals, Ted Okon Says
September 24th 2024Ted Okon, MBA, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance, spoke with The American Journal of Managed Care® about how the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) lawsuit against pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) could affect the future of pharmaceuticals and oncology.
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Rethinking the Role of PBMs in Health Care Reform
September 11th 2024Policy changes, such as banning spread pricing and promoting transparency, are necessary to realign the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) market and ensure that health care resources benefit patients and providers rather than being diverted by middlemen, according to panelists at the Community Oncology Alliance Payer Exchange Summit.
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Scaling Value-Based Care: Addressing Systemic Issues With Innovative Payer-Provider Collaboration
September 10th 2024The need for improved collaboration between payers and providers is key to successfully implementing value-based care initiatives that address patient needs, ensure measurable outcomes, and overcome challenges, according to panelists at the Community Oncology Alliance Payer Exchange Summit.
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Finding Common Ground: Addressing PBM Issues and ERISA Tensions
September 10th 2024A panel discussion at the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) Payer Exchange Summit highlighted the tension between state regulation of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preemption, emphasizing the need for reforms to balance employer uniformity with addressing PBM practices.
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IRA Negotiated Drug Prices Can’t Come “On the Backs of Providers”
September 10th 2024There are concerns that the negotiated drug prices under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are leading to large provider reimbursement cuts, explained Nick Ferreyros, managing director, Community Oncology Alliance.
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Stakeholder Engagement With State, Local Officials Is Key to Driving Policy Change
September 10th 2024Panelists at the Community Oncology Alliance Payer Exchange Summit 2024 agreed that overcoming health care challenges will depend heavily on collaboration and active engagement from multiple stakeholders in the policy and regulatory process.
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Judith Alberto: COA Takes on Congress, Addresses Change Healthcare Cyberattack
April 18th 2024Judith Alberto, MHA, RPh, BCOP, director of clinical initiatives at the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), discusses upcoming policy initiatives and the current oncology landscape amid a health care cyberattack.
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