Community Oncology Alliance (COA) | Strategic Alliance Partnership

The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) retains the spirit of an upstart advocacy group, while working to look ahead at innovative technologies, care delivery trends, and other events that threaten independent practices, said oncology leaders while attending their annual meeting this week.

Topics to be addressed at the annual conference, which will bring more than 1900 attendees to Kissimmee, Florida, include the Enhancing Oncology Model, efforts to regulate pharmacy benefit managers, and 340B reform.

Stephen M. Schleicher, MD, MBA, Tennessee Oncology and Community Oncology Alliance (COA) Board of Directors member, discusses what brings him back to the Community Oncology Conference year after year.

This year's Community Oncology Conference will celebrate 2 decades of achievements in community oncology and begin to chart a path forward for the future, said Nicolas Ferreyros, managing director of policy, advocacy, and communications at Community Oncology Alliance (COA).

In this preview of the 2023 Community Oncology Conference, past president of the Community Oncology Alliance, David Eagle, MD, of New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, discusses what has him excited for this year's meeting, both sessions and speakers.

Shiela Plasencia, director of practice support at the Community Oncology Alliance, shares what she's looking forward to at the 2023 Community Oncology Conference.

At Patient-Centered Oncology Care®, Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, of Texas Oncology, discussed managed care considerations that arise from the groundbreaking DESTINY-Breast04 study presented earlier this year.

Constructive advice on improving the Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM) from our expert panel.

The Enhancing Oncology Model allows pooling of groups of practices for quality measurement, which was not permitted under the OCM.

Asking for help to prepare for the Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM) and 2-sided risk is advised, say panelists experienced with the Oncology Care Model (OCM).

As terms for Monthly Enhanced Oncology Services (MEOS) payments are set to change under the EOM, panelists worry that the barriers to entry to value-based care will be too high for practices that did not participate in the OCM.

Panelists see the 5-year period of the Enhancing Oncology Model as reasonable; they would like see some progress toward permanent value-based payment structures.

Addressing cancer patients' lack of housing or food insecurity affects care outcomes, but how can the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation build this into a reward structure?

Cutting the amount of Monthly Enhanced Oncology Services payments and limiting qualifying tumor types will curtail revenue to practices. But after the financial results in the Oncology Care Model, that's by design.

Unlike the Oncology Care Model, the Enhancing Oncology Model will focus on 7 common cancer types, which experts say offers advantages and disadvantages for practices.

Coverage from the Community Oncology Alliance Payer Exchange Summit, held in Tyson's Corner, Virginia, October 24-25, 2022.

In a sign that value-based care is here to stay, some practices that did not participate in the Oncology Care Model (OCM) have applied for the Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM).

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) was a strong collaborator during the Oncology Care Mode (OCM), but the timing of the Enhancing Oncology Model came as a surprise.

Experts from US Oncology, Tennessee Oncology, AON, and COA dig into the details of implementing the Enhancing Oncology Model, set to take effect July 1, 2023.

340B was developed with positive intentions, but has resulted in unintended consequences, said Edward J. Licitra, MD, PhD, chairman and chief executive officer, Astera Cancer Care.

"We need to get rid of all obstacles that are getting in the way of the patient getting their care," said Bo Gamble, director of strategic practice initiatives at Community Oncology Alliance (COA).

The 2023 Physician Fee Schedule final rule was released and swiftly drew condemnations from physician leaders because of a 4.5% cut to reimbursement.

The quest to deliver better cancer care—with better outcomes and patient experience—is not a one-size-fits-all journey, as seen in panels during the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) Payer Exchange Summit, held in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia.

Making value-based payment models work in cancer care requires close attention to the financial and quality measures and a commitment to culture change, said experts gathered October 25 at the Community Oncology Alliance Payer Exchange Summit.