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ASTRO backs bipartisan Congressional bills to reduce prior authorization burdens and treatment delays for people with cancer

Press releases may be edited for formatting or style | October 21, 2021 Rad Oncology
On behalf of the nation's radiation oncologists and the more than one million people with cancer they will treat this year, the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) expressed strong support for today's Senate introduction of bipartisan federal legislation that would rein in restrictive prior authorization practices that delay patient access to critical cancer treatments.

The Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act of 2021 was introduced in the Senate (S. 3018) today by Senators Roger Marshall, MD (R-Kan.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), John Thune (R-S.D.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). It was introduced in the House (H.R. 3173) on May 13 by Representatives Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), Ami Bera, MD (D-Calif.) and Larry Bucshon, MD (R-Ind.) and is co-sponsored by 234 representatives—more than half of the House.

"Unnecessarily obstructive prior authorization practices can lead to potentially life-threatening delays in cancer treatment, and these delays increased during the COVID-19 public health emergency," said Thomas J. Eichler, MD, FASTRO, Chair of the ASTRO Board of Directors. "Prior authorization is not achieving its intended goal of improving efficiency and quality in American health care. Instead, the broken system causes our patients immense anxiety, undermines physicians' clinical judgment and drains resources from clinics struggling to recover from the pandemic."

"Legislation is an essential step to reform the prior authorization system, and we applaud Senators Marshall, Sinema, Thune and Brown and Representatives DelBene, Kelly, Bera and Bucshon for their bipartisan leadership on this critical issue," said Dr. Eichler. If passed, the bills would bring critical transparency and oversight to the prior authorization process and help curb delays for people covered by the Medicare Advantage program, including those receiving radiation treatments for cancer.

In an August 2020 ASTRO survey of radiation oncology practice leaders, more than two-thirds of respondents (69%) said the burdens of prior authorization have increased during the pandemic. Most physicians (64%) said cancer treatment delays due to prior authorization have increased, and more than half (52%) said the average delay lasts at least one week. Previous research has found that each week of delay in starting cancer therapy is associated with a 1.2% to 3.2% increased risk of death.

A separate study published earlier this year in JAMA Health Forum found that radiation oncology faces the highest prior authorization burden of any medical specialty: 97% of radiation oncologists perform medical services that are subject to prior authorization under Medicare Advantage plans, compared to 55% of clinicians averaged across medical specialties.

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