Community Oncology Alliance (COA)

Coverage from the 2021 COA Payer Exchange Summit.

Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, of Texas Oncology, and Lucio Gordan, MD, of Florida Cancer Specialists, MD, presented data from a study they conducted in partnership with the Community Oncology Alliance and Avalere Health.

Vertical integration of payers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) took flight with the mergers of Aetna and CVS Health and of Cigna and ExpressScripts. Panelists at Patient-Centered Oncology Care® said the shift has filtered down to affect access at the practice level.

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) is scheduled to end in just a few months, but with no new model in place to succeed it and practices still struggling during the pandemic, CMS should allow OCM to continue, said Kashyap Patel, MD, a co-chair of Patient-Centered Oncology Care® and the current president of the Community Oncology Alliance. He is CEO of Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates.

The announcement of a "strategic refresh" for payment models under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation offered no details on what practices should expect when the Oncology Care Model (OCM) expires in 2022.

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) is scheduled to end in just a few months, but with no new model in place to succeed it and practices still struggling during the pandemic, OCM should continue in its current form, said Kashyap Patel, MD, CEO of Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associations, current president of the Community Oncology Alliance, and co-chair of Patient-Centered Oncology Care®.

The new standards come as community oncology practices await word on the future of the oncology care model, which will expire in 2022.

Biomarker testing and remote patient monitoring are just 2 areas of research presented during the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

In the inaugural Oncology Value Coalition from The American Journal of Managed Care®, Kashyap Patel, MD, led a discussion with Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA; and Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, exploring findings that suggest minority groups develop cancer at higher rates and experience worse outcomes than nonminority groups.

In the inaugural Oncology Value Coalition from The American Journal of Managed Care®, Kashyap Patel, MD, led a discussion with Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA; and Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, exploring findings that suggest minority groups develop cancer at higher rates and experience worse outcomes than nonminority groups.

In the inaugural Oncology Value Coalition from The American Journal of Managed Care®, Kashyap Patel, MD, led a discussion with Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA; and Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, exploring findings that suggest minority groups develop cancer at higher rates and experience worse outcomes than nonminority groups.

Hospital reimbursement deals slow the adoption of biosimilars in oncology, but cost concerns contribute to the incentives to use these agents.

On day 2 of this year’s Community Oncology Conference, a panel of government and health policy experts gathered to discuss the hot-button issue of political influence on cancer policy and the damage community oncology has suffered this past year.

There are many sources, and definitions, of where the value in cancer care lies. In this panel discussion, a cancer survivor and patient advocate, an oncologist, and a benefits professional provided their perspectives on what value in cancer care means to them.

Lalan Wilfong, MD, executive vice president, Value Based Care & Quality Programs, Texas Oncology, and cochair, Payment Reform, Community Oncology Alliance, speaks on the evolution of remote monitoring in cancer care and how value-based oncology may look in the near future.

Edward Licitra, MD, PhD, medical oncologist, Astera Health Partners, discusses his thoughts on what value-based cancer care entails and how physicians can best align their goals with those of the patient and health plan.

A popular misconception of palliative care is that it only has importance toward making patients comfortable at the end of their lives, noted a palliative care physician on the first day of the 2021 Community Oncology Conference, presented by the Community Oncology Alliance.

Kathy Oubre, MS, chief operating officer of Pontchartrain Cancer Center, discusses cost-saving implications of biosimilars in oncology, as well as several barriers that continue to impede their use.

Ted Okon, MBA, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance, discusses what influence the new administration may have on payment reform in oncology and issues regarding the 340B drug pricing program.

Day 1 of this year’s virtual Community Oncology Conference opened with a panel discussion that touched on all things related to the COVID-19 pandemic, with leaders presenting a unified front.

Jeff Patton, MD, CEO, OneOncology, and chairman of the board, Tennessee Oncology, discusses what influence COVID-19 will have on discussions at the Community Oncology Conference 2021, as well as takeaways he hopes audience members and participants gain from the conference.

Lalan Wilfong, MD, executive vice president, Value Based Care & Quality Programs, Texas Oncology, and co-chair, Payment Reform, Community Oncology Alliance, discusses implications of quality metrics in cancer care and what perspectives on the topic he is looking forward to hearing at the 2021 Community Oncology Conference.

Dinesh Kapur, MD, chair, OneCouncil, and managing partner, Eastern Connecticut Hematology and Oncology (ECHO), speaks on efforts made by by community oncology practices to improve minority representation in oncology clinical trials and implications of the COVID-19 pandemic ahead of the 2021 Community Oncology Conference.

Kathy Oubre, MS, chief operating officer, Pontchartrain Cancer Center, explores US adoption of biosimilars ahead of her panel discussion at the 2021 Community Oncology Conference, as well as what sessions she’s looking forward to attending.

Bo Gamble, Director of Strategic Practice Initiatives, Community Oncology Alliance, highlights his questions for the keynote speakers of the 2021 Community Oncology Conference, and takeaways he hopes audience members gain from the sessions.

Ted Okon, MBA, executive director, Community Oncology Alliance (COA), speaks on the most significant challenges members encountered in the past year managing the COVID-19 pandemic ahead of the 2021 Community Oncology Conference.

Jeff Patton, MD, CEO, OneOncology, chairman of the board, Tennessee Oncology, discusses what audience members should expect from the Community Oncology Conference 2021 and sessions he is looking forward to.

The Community Oncology Alliance's request includes declarations from community oncology practices detailing the anticipated ramifications should the Most Favored Nation rule become operative.

Kashyap Patel, MD, associate editor of Evidence-Based Oncology, a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care, will serve a 1-year term beginning in January.