Local Cancer Care Facility Explains Important Role Medicare Reimbursement Plays in Ensuring Patient Access to Quality, Community-Based Cancer Care
Alpharetta, GA – U.S. Representative Tom Price (R-District 6) today toured Georgia Center for Total Cancer Care at Preston Ridge, a local free-standing radiation therapy center offering the latest cancer technologies and therapies, to meet with cancer care specialists, patients and family members and learn more about radiation therapy offerings in the area. Members of the Alpharetta area’s cancer care community discussed the key role community-based radiation therapy centers have in helping win the war on cancer, as well as the importance of a logical, predictable Medicare reimbursement policy to ensure continued access to state-of-the-art, quality cancer care in the community setting.
“I am pleased to have the opportunity to tour Georgia Center for Total Cancer Care at Preston Ridge and meet with some of the local constituents and cancer care staff that are providing excellent, first class care right here in our district,” said Representative Price. “Especially in an area of health care such as this that is constantly evolving with new technologies, it is wonderful to see the high level of care being delivered in our local community.”
“We applaud Representative Price’s commitment to serving our area’s residents and are honored to welcome him to our facility today to meet with our patients and dedicated care giving staff,” said Dr. Mark McCord, a radiation oncologist at Georgia Center for Total Cancer Care at Preston Ridge. “We are proud to demonstrate the quality care we provide and thank Representative Price for his efforts to ensure that Alpharetta-area patients are able to continue receiving quality, state of the art cancer care right here in our community.”
In addition to showcasing the latest techniques and innovations in radiation therapy, Georgia Center for Total Cancer Care at Preston Ridge physicians and staff expressed the need for stable, predictable payments in order to ensure that cancer patients can access the full care and medicines recommended by their doctors. In recent years, Medicare payments have been subject to numerous proposed payment reductions, on top of previously enacted federal Medicare cuts for all physician services. Members of the local cancer care community warn that deep additional cuts to radiation therapy services threaten patients’ access to life-saving cancer care. Furthermore, payment reductions could potentially lead to forced facility closures and limited patient access to cutting-edge technologies, which could then result in worsened health outcomes.
Radiation therapy has saved thousands of lives across our country and is helping Americans win the war on cancer as one of the three most commonly used cancer treatments along with surgery and chemotherapy. Today, approximately 50 to 60 percent of cancer patients are treated with radiation at some time during their course of care, and this critical therapy applied through the latest advanced technology is greatly improving patient outcomes.
Further, freestanding cancer centers are often located in underserved and critical access areas, providing patients with a point of care close to home that allows them to remain active in their communities and even keep working as they undergo treatment.
Georgia Center for Total Cancer Care at Preston Ridge provides more than 10,000 treatments annually, and last year delivered care to approximately 500 new patients diagnosed with prostate, breast and lung cancers and other life-threatening diseases. The center offers patients a variety of non-invasive radiation therapy services, with minimal side effects.