Download Sequestration cuts are a blunt ax to cancer care that will have a

Sequestration cuts are a blunt ax to cancer care that will have a devastating effect on
patients. In some areas, particularly rural communities, practices will simply be driven out
of business, ending patient access to treatment. Others will be forced to send patients to
hospitals for chemotherapy -- if the hospital will treat them -- or simply merge into the
hospital, resulting in higher costs for both patients and Medicare. This is the exact opposite
of the intent of healthcare reform. When community cancer clinics are forced to close their
doors, access to cancer care is compromised for cancer patients, especially vulnerable
seniors covered by Medicare.
It is simply irrational to let these cuts decimate cancer care. The negative impact of
Medicare cancer cuts to date has been well documented — the sequestration cuts now
push community cancer care off the cliff. Because of these cuts, options such as curtailing
services, refusing new patients, closing practices and selling to a hospital are now under
consideration in many practices -- including mine.
I want to continue to care for my patients and am proud to be part of the best cancer care
system in the world. When sequestration threatens my ability to provide that care, it
threatens the lives of my patients as much as the cancer they are fighting.
Respectfully,
Your Community Oncologist:
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