Meta tags:
description= Cancer Therapy Advisor offers the latest cancer management and treatment info, cancer research news, and more for oncologists and medical professionals.;
Headings (most frequently used words):
features, more, latest, news, conference, coverage, clinical, tools, from, cme, ce, topics, want, to, read,
Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (226), and (206), #cancer (131), #string (84), #that (71), for (71), #women (59), #said (56), #care (56), #health (52), #cancers (51), #more (45), have (41), are (41), advisor (37), int (32), from (29), other (27), not (27), with (27), biden (25), but (25), patients (23), this (23), medicare (22), cannabis (22), #clinical (19), diagnosis (19), about (19), report (19), access (19), 2024 (18), has (18), their (18), they (18), can (17), will (17), drug (17), could (17), been (17), than (15), prices (15), savings (15), breast (15), providers (15), system (15), drugs (15), prevent (15), systems (14), news (14), cannabinoids (14), change (13), kff (13), government (13), medical (13), which (13), treatment (13), unitedhealth (13), part (13), use (12), deaths (12), healthcare (12), may (12), research (11), hospitals (11), first (11), federal (11), negotiations (11), lancet (11), guidelines (11), gender (11), should (11), these (11), men (10), price (10), there (10), was (10), screening (9), claims (9), based (9), improving (9), hospital (9), sexual (9), likely (9), new (9), inflation (9), such (9), oncology (9), money (9), primary (8), closed (8), take (8), year (8), you (8), legislation (8), practice (8), she (8), example (8), years (8), who (8), attack (8), studies (8), act (8), lung (8), national (7), restore (7), reported (7), bladder (7), prevention (7), evidence (7), low (7), related (7), how (7), quality (7), general (7), those (7), cyberattack (7), group (7), cut (7), deficit (7), symptoms (7), also (7), statement (7), away (7), data (7), negotiate (7), billion (7), one (7), gynecologic (7), neck (7), million (6), people (6), struggle (6), after (6), when (6), lack (6), often (6), effects (6), them (6), had (6), well (6), our (6), lower (6), shown (6), register (6), head (6), another (6), against (6), reduction (6), hematologic (6), features (6), cybersecurity (6), resources (6), its (6), association (6), without (6), provisions (6), payments (6), products (6), clinicians (6), disease (6), all (5), authors (5), american (5), hackers (5), skin (5), out (5), published (5), very (5), info (5), prostate (5), pay (5), his (5), billing (5), recommendation (5), need (5), provide (5), paper (5), recommendations (5), paralyzed (5), like (5), strategies (5), team (5), would (5), 160b (5), barriers (5), payment (5), some (5), close (5), many (5), adults (5), tools (5), including (5), information (5), services (5), cervical (5), increase (5), recommended (5), vanderpuye (5), options (5), support (5), seek (5), riggi (5), sex (5), programs (5), independent (5), according (5), object (5), practices (5), used (5), noted (5), seniors (5), management (5), endocrine (5), being (5), cannabinoid (5), spokesperson (5), study (5), power (5), ginsburg (5), month (5), even (4), suggested (4), saldaña (4), president (4), unger (4), interventions (4), researchers (4), post_type (4), equitable (4), post_modified_gmt (4), wp_post (4), post_content_filtered (4), post_parent (4), raw (4), guid (4), filter (4), comment_count (4), post_excerpt (4), https (4), post_mime_type (4), www (4), cancertherapyadvisor (4), post (4), com (4), post_modified (4), disparities (4), publish (4), administration (4), white (4), experience (4), menu_order (4), post_content (4), post_date_gmt (4), post_status (4), comment_status (4), pinged (4), ping_status (4), post_password (4), post_date (4), 45456 (4), post_name (4), delays (4), to_ping (4), post_author (4), impacts (4), kidney (4), were (4), loading (4), longer (4), network (4), therapy (4), login (4), renal (4), cap (4), rebate (4), source (4), revenue (4), among (4), 2026 (4), defenses (4), corman (4), addressing (4), cme (4), male (4), pain (4), policy (4), physician (4), march (4), two (4), long (4), attacks (4), company (4), devices (4), post_title (4), saving (4), older (4), medicine (4), gastrointestinal (4), starting (4), journalism (4), during (4), side (4), countries (4), content (4), augment (4), insurance (4), good (4), replace (4), interactions (4), chemotherapy (4), button (4), most (4), diagnosed (4), staff (4), nausea (4), vomiting (4), later (4), concerns (4), colorectal (4), prescriptions (4), impact (4), hours (3), several (3), into (3), sisselman (3), conferences (3), time (3), announced (3), education (3), awareness (3), includes (3), offered (3), heart (3), 172102 (3), california (3), antos (3), adult (3), trial (3), oral (3), through (3), covered (3), weak (3), risks (3), 160 (3), multimedia (3), negotiating (3), her (3), americans (3), working (3), efficacy (3), standard (3), haven (3), noridian (3), influence (3), breach (3), insurers (3), receive (3), core (3), 000 (3), estimated (3), added (3), tend (3), although (3), mean (3), yet (3), hhs (3), treatments (3), fact (3), institute (3), author (3), making (3), cost (3), reason (3), costs (3), analysis (3), abuse (3), polling (3), issue (3), called (3), pharma (3), early (3), potential (3), still (3), others (3), believe (3), common (3), specific (3), overall (3), efforts (3), calls (3), ransomware (3), minority (3), regulators (3), while (3), experts (3), protect (3), because (3), program (3), ability (3), previously (3), future (3), recommend (3), mcknight (3), tumors (3), induced (3), 170704 (3), want (3), improve (3), sexism (3), solid (3), respiratory (3), exhausted (3), thoracic (3), pancreatic (3), read (3), thyroid (3), melanoma (3), found (3), leukemias (3), guideline (3), did (3), kaposi (3), 171207 (3), black (3), coverage (3), powered (3), topics (3), conference (3), 171862 (3), genitourinary (3), lymphoma (3), prescription (3), signed (3), haymarket (3), joe (3), lymphomas (3), term (3), sarcoma (3), view (3), supportive (3), agents (3), cns (3), bone (3), connective (3), tissue (3), interest (3), urologic (3), select (3), only (3), category (3), any (3), make (3), much (3), offer (3), cytoprotective (3), eye (3), seen (2), city (2), aren (2), diagnoses (2), rates (2), stages (2), income (2), mortality (2), aha (2), addition (2), drugmakers (2), implemented (2), widespread (2), taxpayers (2), intervention (2), woods (2), recently (2), given (2), note (2), don (2), 300 (2), cyber (2), 2020 (2), brand (2), name (2), case (2), vital (2), types (2), vaccines (2), type (2), array (2), sector (2), participate (2), digital (2), address (2), minimum (2), taken (2), diabetes (2), reports (2), death (2), premature (2), studied (2), blood (2), mexico (2), occur (2), worldwide (2), place (2), failure (2), projects (2), include (2), budget (2), less (2), congressional (2), avoided (2), august (2), over (2), proposed (2), chosen (2), seriously (2), office (2), oppose (2), physicians (2), learn (2), expert (2), covid (2), 2022 (2), risk (2), operating (2), higher (2), issues (2), depth (2), produces (2), newsroom (2), delayed (2), warner (2), beneficiaries (2), held (2), similarly (2), pocket (2), ophthalmology (2), medicaid (2), state (2), nurse (2), incident (2), neurology (2), critical (2), know (2), improvements (2), law (2), workarounds (2), paying (2), established (2), mpr (2), own (2), kind (2), minimize (2), bag (2), next (2), what (2), resolve (2), significant (2), senior (2), paid (2), pandemic (2), severe (2), demands (2), processing (2), your (2), help (2), cardiology (2), optum (2), dollars (2), rheumatology (2), encourage (2), idea (2), urology (2), week (2), rare (2), torres (2), highly (2), meanwhile (2), switch (2), pulmonology (2), days (2), florida (2), psychiatry (2), contractors (2), directed (2), flow (2), optometry (2), clearinghouses (2), switching (2), nesbit (2), little (2), ransom (2), everything (2), enrollees (2), pediatric (2), service (2), myeloma (2), exorbitant (2), leukemia (2), big (2), expect (2), vulnerable (2), metering (2), safety (2), authority (2), fda (2), media (2), free (2), central (2), nervous (2), update (2), cash (2), house (2), already (2), pointed (2), institution (2), allow (2), hacked (2), insulin (2), carcinoma (2), cell (2), say (2), questions (2), meeting (2), cavalry (2), founder (2), gold (2), infectious (2), believed (2), thieves (2), parsons (2), hematology (2), since (2), sarcomas (2), gastroenterology (2), 2023 (2), organizations (2), public (2), endocrinology (2), dermatology (2), rate (2), realized (2), cbo (2), cumulative (2), 161 (2), rights (2), settings (2), look (2), behind (2), full (2), months (2), female (2), survival (2), using (2), gave (2), heterosexual (2), bcop (2), role (2), greater (2), exposing (2), amenable (2), generally (2), shortcomings (2), response (2), provider (2), result (2), society (2), sherman (2), wolfson (2), daniel (2), observed (2), chang (2), amy (2), politifact (2), outcomes (2), antiemetic (2), alexandra (2), prevented (2), della (2), pia (2), pharmd (2), mba (2), changes (2), asco (2), inadequate (2), understand (2), timely (2), deemed (2), girls (2), norms (2), advanced (2), suneja (2), woman (2), dynamics (2), special (2), under (2), variable (2), collections (2), basic (2), might (2), trials (2), area (2), must (2), detection (2), reduce (2), setting (2), solutions (2), itself (2), query (2), thing (2), known (2), educational (2), routinely (2), receiving (2), earlier (2), suggest (2), her2 (2), face (2), bernard (2), benefit (2), similar (2), darius (2), goodman (2), mphil (2), julie (2), ehlers (2), maryland (2), cbd (2), unlimited (2), jonathan (2), cause (2), unless (2), european (2), work (2), understood (2), now (2), congress (2), tahir (2), due (2), sacramento, goodness, redistributed, model, clearly, needs, devote, funding, voters, 170367, bcma, focus, problem, suspected, unit, giant, responses, division, transient, consequential, nsclc, 170513, optional, outperforms, john, onset, crisis, index, able, comparing, parts, dose, takes, adviser, telling, purely, retreatment, date, relied, voluntary, decade, standards, targeted, networks, beau, advocacy, history, doctors, person, 169445, short, order, 169796, stressed, interview, heard, processor, accepting, prophylaxis, anyway, obscure, improves, margaret, preexposure, pemgarda, bind, eua, three, dermatologists, grants, hrqol, trouble, cms, pharmacies, 169872, find, broad, reelection, chemoimmunotherapy, metastatic, vulnerability, applicable, passed, reference, centers, agreed, referred, material, just, minutes, last, processors, colleagues, broadcast, updated, accept, rewritten, updates, pocketbooks, interviewed, hundreds, thousands, headlines, jobs, loan, please, 540, aside, toxicities, managing, offers, sheets, sclc, insurer, paltry, both, jackson, miami, beneficial, dade, county, search, especially, miss, weeks, anders, gilberg, acceptance, advance, aided, worried, constitutes, almost, website, initially, criticized, human, department, aforementioned, assistance, sections, pressure, authorization, prior, form, financing, relief, appears, outage, clients, possible, nasopharyngeal, fill, irradiation, particularly, determined, right, upper, fast, confirms, hcc, distinct, ceo, counter, andrew, witty, electronic, restored, bill, strongly, pharmacy, important, payer, vaccinate, subtype, length, adding, insufficient, lasts, chief, officer, mail, checks, line, myriam, supplies, radiotherapy, annual, union, locally, malpractice, stephen, island, crt, plus, york, chemo, impossible, induction, latest, electronically, funneled, feb, 100, completed, daily, immunotherapy, worsen, selected, manage, until, negotiated, translate, nearly, regarding, barred, therapies, 2031, involves, generic, equivalents, likewise, moderate, extract, thc, controlled, repeal, progression, eliquis, 2027, tricia, tachycardia, neuman, vice, serious, harm, interpreted, define, educate, indications, 2028, kept, per, outside, strong, 2029, jumping, gun, claiming, advise, needed, conservative, enterprise, thinners, xarelto, orthostatic, reversible, above, increases, economy, effort, refractory, phased, moderately, proven, children, ira, abnormalities, fiedler, encompassed, begin, generating, modest, too, enzyme, iaw, liver, however, permanent, brookings, burden, nabilone, augmented, januvia, jardiance, novolog, enbrel, rheumatoid, posted, arthritis, imbruvica, dronabinol, entresto, stelara, matthew, psoriasis, crohn, farxiga, chronic, nonpartisan, regimen, medications, ramping, generated, negotiation, symptom, led, 9971, 123281, 105302, 136788, posts, costliest, feature, journal, lot, ruling, jco, article, see, total, obligation, save, feds, respected, distribute, underway, released, allowing, kicked, come, count, effect, small, 27215, half, true, omits, frame, reserved, expand, 27178, projected, 27201, 27205, 30493, set, inc, stacking, 27846, 56324, 500, giving, copyright, hasn, 93567, happened, articles, overwhelmingly, limited, 7641, judgment, anywhere, guidance, 2025, advantage, drops, certain, interested, ask, shingles, 7642, phasing, naïve, prominent, paranoia, 5155, confusion, 209, touted, hypotension, promise, enable, remain, leanings, increasingly, subset, reaps, current, pressed, enrolled, examples, conversations, facilitate, occurred, between, shows, decision, shared, charge, log, communication, political, included, regardless, spending, begins, partners, terms, disrespect, suboptimal, underrepresented, causes, despite, commonly, charts, patriarchal, ideas, complaints, manifest, prevalent, mistreatment, negligence, ophira, comparison, wrote, experiences, damage, trust, calculators, willingness, focused, university, utah, salt, lake, featured, meetings, life, barrier, intersects, marginalized, status, further, complicate, things, latin, undergoing, uganda, bills, main, transportation, optimal, play, forgo, intersectionality, think, key, takeaways, degree, adequately, considered, bethesda, underestimated, massive, intersectional, involved, altering, identity, times, incidence, present, emergency, rooms, greatest, omen, disadvantaged, korle, teaching, accra, ghana, presentation, explained, 618, explore, gastric, verna, here, mechanisms, different, literacy, roles, interfere, cases, measles, discussions, partly, affect, performing, profoundly, neglected, gita, counterparts, adverse, events, overlooked, overlooking, inappropriately, reassuring, palpable, mass, benign, biopsy, rectal, managed, appropriately, perceived, psychosocial, non, psychoactive, disrespectful, discriminatory, resulting, biases, stereotypes, affects, colon, course, orientation, eing, religious, cultural, preventing, accessing, range, enrollment, direct, disclosed, patient, improvement, workshops, highlighted, measures, lead, frameworks, differences, bias, recommends, ensuring, 176, integrating, competency, framework, affiliations, series, workforce, opportunities, transformational, translational, actions, where, world, real, biological, examined, factor, generate, movement, toxicity, way, create, attend, hoping, done, obtain, respectful, secondary, conflicts, having, survivorship, drs, institutes, offering, disclosures, anyone, training, 14495, ethnicity, indigenous, owned, february, belonging, 187, groups, 15533, limit, 7640, thats, compared, 154, vulnerabilities, canada, revealed, histories, trauma, physical, residential, school, attendance, inability, locate, intersecting, identities, race, proportion, alcohol, collecting, feminist, reporting, sociodemographic, factors, populations, reducing, exposures, devising, 7639, bring, discussion, fore, revisit, social, economics, tobacco, step, toward, eliminating, appropriate, tailored, genetic, testing, counseling, lifestyle, hpv, vaccination, avoiding, man, manner, ultimately, saad, chaudhry, executive, luminis, told, organization, riding, image, incentives, rumors, proliferated, clamoring, wants, choose, reasonable, conglomerate, keep, closely, verified, assist, enforcement, mycme, perpetrated, reinforce, beyond, matters, nace, stakeholders, pick, nevertheless, living, kingdom, home, giants, merck, numerous, hills, rush, former, official, josh, suffered, faced, large, incentivize, going, someone, gang, bitcoin, indeed, intended, aspect, bonanza, wired, magazine, happens, gets, rough, day, releases, feel, down, states, start, submitting, vendor, within, practicable, solution, everyone, jeff, recognizes, actively, looking, vaccine, same, vendors, pressing, better, interim, lobbyist, represents, privacy, conditions, formerly, twitter, require, extend, availability, accelerated, hoped, helping, dark, built, leaders, directors, treat, threat, extraordinary, flexibility, acknowledged, difficult, priority, resuming, advised, ease, members, sophisticated, expedite, reliant, processes, flipping, mary, mayhew, unrealistic, advice, got, tool, nothing, suggestions, file, united, knocked, karla, dedicated, requires, available, 2017, assisted, surveying, readiness, slice, wealthier, maternal, technology, defend, vast, majority, security, rise, target, rich, poor, weaknesses, policymakers, immediately, something, prosaic, heating, air, conditioning, connected, internet, erecting, importance, senator, buprenorphine, 185, died, prematurely, via, remaining, 800, influenza, seasonal, each, inpatients, waiver, desire, unfunded, mandates, harsh, penalty, 2000, requiring, cyberdefenses, boost, entire, industry, says, won, heal, breached, mark, korea, remarkable, warned, advertise, phishing, link, email, exotic, pathways, means, connect, consider, hardening, kinds, 249, believes, cookie, number, fbi, intensifies, private, companies, comprise, regulates, defending, cyberthreats, sponsored, harbored, russia, north, clear, patchwork, understanding, communications, clunkers, courses, old, never, pursued, rachel, cohen, sense, depending, gained, assess, doesn, functioning, machines, removed, linger, expensive, slow, best, mend, outdated, software, pathway, get, simply, degrade, menu,
Text of the page (random words):
evidence 1 likewise cannabis and or cannabinoids should not be used to augment the effects of cancer therapies unless being studied as part of a clinical trial a weak recommendation based on very low quality evidence 1 this is based on a lack of data regarding potential drug drug interactions in the cancer setting and the impact of these interactions on cancer treatment outcomes 2 in addition studies have suggested that cannabis and or cannabinoids may worsen immunotherapy outcomes including progression free survival and overall survival although more data are needed if patients are receiving cancer treatments that are moderately or highly likely to cause nausea and vomiting and the patients experience symptoms that are refractory to standard antiemetic treatments their antiemetic regimen can be augmented with dronabinol nabilone or a quality controlled oral 1 1 thc cbd extract weak recommendations based on low to moderate quality evidence 1 unless they are enrolled in a clinical trial adults with cancer should not take 300 mg or more of oral cbd daily to manage symptom burden a weak recommendation based on low quality evidence this is due to a lack of proven efficacy and the risk of reversible liver enzyme abnormalities which were observed in a study of adults and children without cancer oral cannabis products have a variable onset from 30 minutes to 2 hours and effects may last from 5 to 8 hours so dose stacking should be avoided to prevent side effects the guidelines also note that there is insufficient evidence to recommend for or against cannabis and or cannabinoids in managing cancer treatment related toxicities or symptoms including pain aside from the aforementioned clinical settings or in a clinical trial setting 1 post_title string 62 new guidelines on cannabis cannabinoid use in cancer patients post_excerpt string 209 cannabis and cannabinoids should not be used to augment or replace cancer treatment but they may improve chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting when other guideline recommended options have been exhausted post_status string 7 publish comment_status string 6 closed ping_status string 6 closed post_password string 0 post_name string 51 guidelines cannabis cannabinoid use cancer patients to_ping string 0 pinged string 0 post_modified string 19 2024 03 26 10 36 47 post_modified_gmt string 19 2024 03 26 14 36 47 post_content_filtered string 0 post_parent int 0 guid string 46 https www cancertherapyadvisor com p 172102 menu_order int 0 post_type string 4 post post_mime_type string 0 comment_count string 1 0 filter string 3 raw 1 object wp_post 7641 24 id int 171862 post_author string 5 45456 post_date string 19 2024 03 22 10 15 00 post_date_gmt string 19 2024 03 22 14 15 00 post_content string 9971 president joe biden has been making his case for reelection to voters by telling them he is good for their pocketbooks including at the pharmacy counter during his state of the union address biden said legislation he signed gave medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices that s not just saving seniors money and taxpayers money biden said a reference to the inflation reduction act which passed in 2022 we cut the federal deficit by 160 billion because medicare will no longer have to pay those exorbitant prices to big pharma biden added this year medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs he called for giving medicare the power to negotiate prices for 500 drugs over the next decade in august the federal government announced the first 10 drugs that it will negotiate for lower prices as part of the inflation reduction act a respected source of legislation analysis projects the change will save the government a lot of money but those dollars haven t been realized there is a reason biden touted this legislation during his address polling by kff shows that people regardless of their political leanings overwhelmingly support the idea of allowing medicare to negotiate drug prices but most people don t know that such negotiations are underway impact of inflation reduction act will take many years in august 2022 biden signed the inflation reduction act which will allow the federal government to negotiate prices with drugmakers for medicare biden kept his promise to repeal the law that barred medicare from negotiating prices the nonpartisan congressional budget office projects a 10 year cumulative savings of 161 7 billion from two provisions of the iaw a phased in effort to negotiate with drugmakers for lower prices and a rebate for price increases above the overall inflation rate the white house has previously pointed to this analysis however not all the savings will be permanent about 44 3 billion over 10 years will be funneled into related provisions that expand access and lower out of pocket costs for medicare beneficiaries negotiations are still ramping up so the savings generated by the inflation reduction act negotiation provisions are still in the future said matthew fiedler a brookings institution expert on the economy and health studies the congressional budget office did expect the inflation rebate provisions of the ira which are encompassed in the 160 billion to begin generating modest savings during 2023 and 2024 but there too most of the savings are in the future the legislation involves price negotiations for 10 brand name medications that lack generic equivalents those drugs include the blood thinners eliquis and xarelto the diabetes drugs januvia jardiance and novolog enbrel for rheumatoid arthritis the blood cancer drug imbruvica entresto for heart failure stelara for psoriasis and crohn s disease and farxiga a drug for diabetes heart failure and chronic kidney disease the cbo has estimated that the negotiated prices will translate to nearly 100 billion in federal savings from 2026 to 2031 biden is jumping the gun on claiming savings for seniors said joe antos an expert on health care at the conservative american enterprise institute price negotiations haven t been completed the new prices for selected drugs aren t in place until 2026 biden said the legislation is saving seniors money and taxpayers money which could be interpreted to mean it is saving them money now on prescription drugs but the negotiations for these drugs would define the prices to be paid for prescriptions starting in 2026 for 2027 and 2028 15 more drugs per year will be chosen for price negotiations starting in 2029 20 more will be chosen a year that said other provisions in the legislation have already led to savings for seniors said tricia neuman a senior vice president at kff certain recommended adult vaccines covered under medicare part d such as shingles are covered at no cost the act established a cap on part d spending that begins phasing in this year this year part d enrollees will pay no more than 3 300 on brand name drugs in 2025 the cap for all covered part d drugs drops to 2 000 the inflation reduction act included the 35 a month insulin cap improvements in coverage for low income beneficiaries and the inflation rebate when we pressed the white house to provide examples of savings that have already occurred a spokesperson pointed to the insulin cap meanwhile antos said that although the part d rebate has kicked in the savings come from a small subset of part d drugs taken by older americans and that the government reaps the savings not older americans there is no reason to expect that seniors will see significant savings since there s no obligation for the feds to distribute savings to part d enrollees antos said our ruling biden said we cut the federal deficit by 160 billion because medicare will no longer have to pay those exorbitant prices to big pharma biden s statement omits the time frame the savings have not been realized the cbo projected 10 year cumulative savings of 161 7 billion from two provisions of the legislation and as for saving older americans money on their prescriptions that hasn t happened yet the federal government is negotiating the first 10 drugs with the new prices set to take effect in 2026 we rate this statement half true kff health news is a national newsroom that produces in depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at kff an independent source of health policy research polling and journalism learn more about kff post_title string 90 biden said medicare drug price negotiations cut the deficit by 160b that s years away post_excerpt string 154 president joe biden said that legislation he signed gave medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices but those impacts are years away post_status string 7 publish comment_status string 6 closed ping_status string 6 closed post_password string 0 post_name string 84 biden said medicare drug price negotiations cut the deficit by 160b thats years away to_ping string 0 pinged string 0 post_modified string 19 2024 03 25 15 00 24 post_modified_gmt string 19 2024 03 25 19 00 24 post_content_filtered string 0 post_parent int 0 guid string 46 https www cancertherapyadvisor com p 171862 menu_order int 0 post_type string 4 post post_mime_type string 0 comment_count string 1 0 filter string 3 raw 2 object wp_post 7640 24 id int 171207 post_author string 5 45456 post_date string 19 2024 03 13 11 00 00 post_date_gmt string 19 2024 03 13 15 00 00 post_content string 15533 margaret parsons one of three dermatologists at a 20 person practice in sacramento california is in a bind since a feb 21 cyberattack on a previously obscure medical payment processing company change healthcare parsons said she and her colleagues haven t been able to electronically bill for their services she heard noridian healthcare solutions california s medicare payment processor was not accepting paper claims as of earlier this week she said and paper claims can take 3 6 months to result in payment anyway she estimated we will be in trouble in very short order and are very stressed she said in an interview with kff health news a california medical association spokesperson said march 7 that the centers for medicare medicaid services had agreed in a meeting to encourage payment processors like noridian to accept paper claims a noridian spokesperson referred questions to cms the american hospital association calls the suspected ransomware attack on change healthcare a unit of insurance giant unitedhealth group s optum division the most significant and consequential incident of its kind against the u s health care system in history while doctors practices hospital systems and pharmacies struggle to find workarounds the attack is exposing the health system s broad vulnerability to hackers as well as shortcomings in the biden administration s response to date government has relied on more voluntary standards to protect the health care system s networks beau woods a co founder of the cyber advocacy group i am the cavalry said but the purely optional do this out of the goodness of your heart model clearly is not working he said the federal government needs to devote greater funding and more focus to the problem he said the crisis will take time to resolve comparing the change healthcare attack to others against parts of the health care system we have seen it generally takes a minimum of 30 days to restore core systems said john riggi the hospital association s national adviser on cybersecurity in a march 7 statement unitedhealth group said two services related to electronic payments and medical claims would be restored later in the month while we work to restore these systems we strongly recommend our provider and payer clients use the applicable workarounds we have established the company said we re determined to make this right as fast as possible said company ceo andrew witty providers and patients are meanwhile paying the price reports of people paying out of pocket to fill vital prescriptions have been common independent physician practices are particularly vulnerable how can you pay staff supplies malpractice insurance all this without revenue said stephen sisselman an independent primary care physician on long island in new york it s impossible jackson health system in miami dade county florida may miss out on as much as 30 million in payments if the outage lasts a month said myriam torres its chief revenue officer some insurers have offered to mail paper checks relief programs announced by both unitedhealth and the federal government have been criticized by health providers especially hospitals sisselman said optum offered his practice which he said has revenue of hundreds of thousands of dollars a month a loan of 540 a week other providers and hospitals interviewed by kff health news said their offers from the insurer were similarly paltry in its march 7 statement the company said it would offer new financing options to providers providers pressure government to act on march 5 almost two weeks after change healthcare first reported what it initially called a cybersecurity issue the health and human services department announced several assistance programs for health providers one recommendation is for insurers to advance payments for medicare claims similar to a program that aided health systems early in the pandemic but physicians and others are worried that would help only hospitals not independent practices or providers anders gilberg a lobbyist with the medical group management association which represents physician practices posted on x formerly known as twitter that the government must require its contractors to extend the availability of accelerated payments to physician practices in a similar manner to which they are being offered to hospitals hhs spokesperson jeff nesbit said the administration recognizes the impact of the attack and is actively looking at their authority to help support these critical providers at this time and working with states to do the same he said medicare is pressing unitedhealth group to offer better options for interim payments to providers another idea from the federal government is to encourage providers to switch vendors away from change healthcare sisselman said he hoped to start submitting claims through a new vendor within 24 to 48 hours but it s not a practicable solution for everyone torres said suggestions from unitedhealth and regulators that providers change clearinghouses file paper claims or expedite payments are not helping it s highly unrealistic she said of the advice if you ve got their claims processing tool there s nothing you can do mary mayhew president of the florida hospital association said her members have built up sophisticated systems reliant on change healthcare switching processes could take 90 days during which they ll be without cash flow she said it s not like flipping a switch nesbit acknowledged switching clearinghouses is difficult but the first priority should be resuming full claims flow he said medicare has direc...
|