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Even with cuts, oncologist reimbursement expected to surpass costs

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, December 7, 2004

Doctors who provide ambulatory cancer care and who feared Medicare cuts by the Bush administration next year may not have as much reason to be glum as they believed, according to a new report issued by the Government Accountability Office.
 
The Associated Press reported last week that even though Medicare payments for certain drugs used by oncologists will decline next year, the actual reimbursement rate will still exceed physicians' costs by an average of 6%. Additionally, reimbursements for other oncologist services are expected to increase by as much as double, according to GAO estimates.

The new reimbursement standards have been established as part of 2003's Medicare prescription drug law, and are intended to ensure that oncologists receive sufficient reimbursement for their services.
 
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, one of the main proponents of the study by the GAO, told the AP that "This report is good news for cancer patients and highlights the adequacy of payments to oncologists, both in drug payments and drug administration services."
 

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