Rural cancer patients see victory in CMS rule change

Today rural Americans struggling with cancer saw a great victory as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) moved to change the rules for those undergoing innovative cancer treatment known as CAR-T to receive reimbursement and have their therapy closer to home.

The National Grange and several State Granges have called on CMS to establish a long-term provider solution, noting that most hospitals certified to provide CAR-T were located in major metropolitan areas, which created significant hurdles for rural individuals eligible to receive such treatment.

“We are pleased that the administration is taking significant steps towards ensuring that seniors living in rural America have access to the most innovative cancer therapies available,” National Grange President Betsy Huber said. “Today’s proposal marks an important milestone in removing the roadblocks to CAR-T therapy for Medicare beneficiaries. We thank the administration for their leadership and look forward to the rule finalizing come August.”

The efforts of the Grange came in the form of a letter to Congress and several well-written op-eds by State Grange leaders in Oklahoma, Ohio, North Carolina and Kansas. You can access each from the links below.

• A National Grange letter to Congress on CAR-T can be found HERE
• Letter to the Editor: Trump administration has chance to expand innovation cancer therapy (Tulsa World, 3/17/20)
• OPINION: Ohioans should support efforts to increase access to cancer care
• OPINION: Rural North Carolinians still face cancer treatment access issues. The administration can fix this
• OPINION: Kansans should thank Rep. Marshall for his leadership to fix cancer treatment access issues