Closing Awareness Gaps in Employer Cancer Benefits: Amanda Green, MPH

Employers can improve access to cancer care and address rising costs by pairing existing benefits with targeted strategies, according to Amanda Green, MPH, senior manager of health care advancement at the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, in part 2 of an interview at the 2026 Community Oncology Alliance Payer Exchange & Innovation Summit.

Green told The American Journal of Managed Care^® that access to community oncology centers is critical for employees receiving a cancer diagnosis. However, access alone is not enough if employees do not know those resources exist. Employers often already have cancer navigation programs in place, she noted, but employees are frequently not aware of them. Pairing those resources with proactive measures, such as on-site preventive screenings, can meaningfully improve employees' cancer care experience, Green said.

Regarding cost, Green pointed to several levers employers can use to help patients. Out-of-pocket costs and administrative barriers like prior authorization remain significant burdens, she said. One strategy is addressing the site of care; specifically, incorporating in-home infusions into benefits plans has become an increasingly common strategy that lowers costs for employers while improving the experience for patients. Comprehensive genomic profiling, while a larger upfront expense that some employers may avoid, can also generate savings by helping identify the right treatment before paying for one that proves ineffective, Green added.

She closed with 3 broader recommendations for employers building out oncology benefits. First, maintain an open communication loop, since navigation and benefits offerings are only useful if employees know about them. Second, stay attentive to innovation, both preventive and treatment-based, as an ongoing opportunity. Third, understand their own data; reviewing high-cost oncology claims by cancer type and diagnosis stage can reveal whether a population needs more preventive screening or more support for innovative treatment options.

"I think getting a better understanding of data is also really important for employers," she concluded.