COA: Community Oncology Alliance

Although there have been a number of new value calculators created recently, UnitedHealthcare does not plan to use any just now. Instead, it will continue covering regimens recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and in a few years the company will use data from its prior authorization tool to analyze performance of regimens, explained Lee Newcomer, MD, MHA, senior vice president, Oncology, Genetics and Women's Health, UnitedHealthcare.

The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) created its Payer Exchange Summit to get payers who are thinking about getting involved in oncology payment reform or want to know what to do exposed to successful pilots, explained Ted Okon, MBA, executive director of COA.

At the Payer Exchange Summit on Oncology Payment Reform, hosted by the Community Oncology Alliance, Daniel McKellar, MD, who chairs the Commission on Cancer, insisted on meaningful feedback from the community to ensure adequate transformation of practices into a medical home.

Payer—provider teams presented updates on their cost-saving pilot projects and looked to the future of these models in oncology care.

A late afternoon session on the first day of the 2015 Community Oncology Conference was a panel discussion called, "The Pathway Conundrum: How Many Do We Need and How Restrictive?"

Historically, people talk about pathways as if they are an answer, but they are really just one component to cancer care delivery, said Laura Long, MD, MPH, president at TheLongView, PC.

A cancer diagnosis is a very emotional experience, and besides for lifestyle issues, medications are one of the best ways to fight the disease, according to Jan Berger, MD, MJ.

The panel discussion, "Tackling Advanced Care Planning in Payment Reform: People and Politics" at the 2015 Community Oncology Conference, included a provider who is an active proponent of advanced care planning (ACP), a program director at a nonprofit health insurance company, and a healthcare consultant who until recently worked for a big health plan.

A general session at the Community Oncology Conference, Community Oncology 2.0, Moving Forward on Payment Reform, was a panel discussion that saw participation by 2 providers and a payer.

With the rising prices of innovative oncology treatments, many of which fall under specialty pharmaceuticals, curbing the cost of care is high on the agenda of healthcare providers.

One of the challenges providers will face in the new Oncology Care Model that CMS announced earlier this year is measuring quality and meeting quality standards under, according to Patti Forest, MD, MBA, senior medical director of network quality and performance at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Given the high cost of oncology medications, many specialty pharmacies have dedicated teams to help patients overcome the financial burden, said Kirby Eng, RPh, executive director of clinical oncology management services at Onco360.