Dr Natalie Dickson Discusses 340B Reform From Tennessee Oncology’s Perspective

Tennessee Oncology believes treating and managing patients regardless of whether they're insured is the right thing to do, said Natalie Dickson, MD, president and chief strategy officer of Tennessee Oncology.

Transcript:

How has Tennessee Oncology led the discussion to reform 340B and responded to the challenge the program presents for community oncology?

The 340B program was developed to help patients in need, and especially those patients with cancer. Unfortunately, it has been determined that, by and large, hospitals have not increased their uncompensated care once they've entered this 340B program.

Tennessee Oncology continues to be the primary provider of free cancer care in our market, and we treat and manage all patients who grace our clinics, regardless of whether they're insured or not. We think it's just the right thing to do.

What we can do is that we can continue to advocate for fair pricing and for price transparency. We'll also try to make data available to health policy researchers. We will continue to demonstrate our value, so demonstrate our value proposition to our patients in our communities, health plans, and the employers. Our value proposition is that we provide the highest quality of care with the lowest cost for drugs, for radiation, for imaging, for labs, and we continue to provide cutting-edge clinical research and comprehensive supportive care services for our patients close to their homes. I think it's in the best interest for patients, health plans, and employers to shift all expensive treatments from the hospital to the community, and if we share our data and share our experiences, I think this may accelerate this transition.