Medicare reimbursement changes have no impact on cancer care

In the three years after the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 reduced reimbursement to doctors of chemotherapy patients, there was little difference in the distance patients traveled for chemothereapy or the amount of time between diagnosis and the start of treatment, according to a new study from the Duke Clinical Research Institute (Source: “Cancer Care Unaffected by Doctor Reimbursement Changes,” HealthDay News, July 8, 2008).

However, researchers were concerned that rural patients typically waited an extra five days on average from diagnosis and the time treatment began. Researchers also indicated that the lower reimbursement rates could have long-term implications that have yet been realized.

The findings were published in the July 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.