Year-end advocacy efforts & legislative updates, Comment on glioma guideline, New RO-ILS report
December 11, 2024
| Year-end ASTRO advocacy efforts and updates |
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| Potential temporary doc fix takes shape |
| Congress is considering a lame duck health care deal that could include a one-year 2.5% increase in the Medicare physician payment, but discussions are still fluid. Without this fix, physicians will face an average 2.9% reduction in fee schedule payments next year. For more information, see What's Happening in Washington. |
| Hospitals, state cancer groups expand list of ROCR Act supporters |
| One of the country’s top 10 largest hospital systems and nine state oncology societies have signed on in support of the ROCR Act. Has your organization signed on yet? With a limited year-end legislative package expected in Congress, ASTRO is already hard at work to advance the ROCR Act in the new Congress. ASTRO appreciates the support of Advocate Health, Minnesota Society of Clinical Oncology, Florida Society of Clinical Oncology, Northern New England Clinical Oncology Society, Nebraska Oncology Society, Association of Northern California Oncologists, Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Massachusetts Society of Clinical Oncologists, Indiana Oncology Society, and Mississippi Oncology Society. Help us start 2025 strong by joining our list of supporters today. For more, visit What’s Happening in Washington. |
| ASTRO to Congress: Support young patients and medical professionals in year-end legislation |
| ASTRO joined nearly 60 associations and organizations in support of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act (S.3679/HR.7153). In a letter to bipartisan congressional leaders, groups encourage enactment of this important legislation either as a stand-alone bill or as part of a legislative package before the end of this Congress. Visit What’s Happening in Washington for details. |
| Additionally, ASTRO joined 230 organizations in support of the Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act (S.2372 / HR.4758). Groups are calling on Congress to complete action and include the language in an end-of-year legislative package. Learn more at What's Happening in Washington. |
| ASTRO PAC candidates reelected overwhelmingly |
| ASTRO PAC had a successful 2024 election cycle, as 96% of supported candidates won their respective elections for Congress. ASTRO PAC spent more than $120,000 on both Republican and Democrat candidates up for reelection this cycle. Learn more about the PAC. |
| Action needed! Public comments requested for Guideline on RT for WHO Grade 4 Diffuse Glioma |
| ASTRO requests feedback on the draft guideline on Radiation Therapy for WHO Grade 4 Diffuse Glioma (replacing the 2016 Glioblastoma Guideline). The scope of the guideline is to provide updated recommendations on RT for patients with grade 4 adult-type diffuse glioma including diagnosis and treatment, integration of molecular markers, advanced imaging techniques and novel therapeutics. Please review the guideline and submit comments through the webform by Wednesday, January 15. You can also access the draft guideline and webform at www.astro.org/PublicComment. |
| RO-ILS releases new Themed Report on Specialized Techniques |
| The latest RO-ILS education is a detailed exploration of events related to specialized treatment techniques such as brachytherapy, TBI, ART, IORT and extended SSD. The new RO-ILS Themed Report contains aggregate analysis comparing specialized and routine technique cohorts in the database, eight case examples and mitigation strategies. RO-ILS regularly releases education to facilitate shared learning and to improve patient safety, so check out previous educational offerings such as case studies, great catches and more. |
| New on the Blog: Four key steps that RO teams can take to dismantle barriers and build more inclusive trials |
| Demographic diversity in clinical trials is vital to ensure that treatments benefit all eligible patient populations. Black patients, for example, are consistently underrepresented on clinical trials, comprising only about 5-7% of trial participants despite making up roughly 14% of the U.S. population, and Hispanic patients have a similar disparity. Chika Madu, MD, outlines four key steps to make inclusivity more the norm than exception. Read more. |
