Today's Date: March 28, 2024
Government of Canada signs two bilateral agreements with Quebec to support initiatives to improve health care   •   The Home Depot Announces Agreement to Acquire SRS Distribution, a Leading Specialty Trade Distributor Across Multiple Verticals;   •   Stora Enso publishes Green and Sustainability-Linked Financing Report 2023   •   Guo Guangchang: "Focus on building sustainable, predictable and enterprise with stable profit growth "   •   Lenzing strives to drive beneficial transformation across the value chain   •   Apogee Enterprises Schedules Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Earnings Release and Conference Call   •   Cardinal Tobin Blesses New Open-Air Mausoleum of the Holy Spirit Site   •   Clean Energy Appoints Patrick J. Ford to Board of Directors   •   Fox Lake Grade School District 114 Selects Varsity Tutors for Schools to Provide Students with Additional Learning Resources   •   3EO Health Announces the First Point of Care Molecular Test Under $15   •   Nutrex-Hawaii Introduces Its #1 Selling BioAstin® Hawaiian Astaxanthin® in a Retail-Ready, Sugar-Free, Vegan Gummy Forma   •   Lightshift Energy Raises $100 Million From Greenbacker Capital Management to Expand Utility Scale Battery Storage Across North A   •   PRIVATE SCHOOL VILLAGE (PSV) AWARDS INAUGURAL ELEMENTARY-SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS   •   Latest U.S. Soybean Field Trials by Texas Crop Science Deliver Average Yield Increase of More Than 20%   •   Parental avoidance of toxic exposures could help prevent autism, ADHD in children, new study shows   •   Avnos and Deep Sky Forge Path to Gigaton-Scale Carbon Removal in Canada   •   Chris Diehl Returns to 101 Mobility as Director of National Accounts   •   Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and Palantir Partner to Create Safe Conditions for In-Person Education in Schools   •   Netcracker Continues Its Support of the U.S. Paralympic Ski and Snowboard Team at Adaptive Spirit 2024   •   The Lenserf Group Launches Emotional Intelligence Academy for HBCU Interns
Bookmark and Share

Letter Highlights Increased Racial Health Disparities and Barriers in Cancer Care

Congressional Letter Highlights Increased Racial Health Disparities and Barriers to Cancer Care in Proposed CMS Policy

 
WASHINGTON--Citing concerns about barriers to cancer treatment and furthering racial disparities in the incidence and mortality of prostate cancer, eight African American Members of Congress wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius about a proposed government policy to cut payments for radiation therapy. Led by Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and seven other Congressional Black Caucus Members, the letter raises concerns with a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed payment change for 2010 which, if finalized, will result in a 44 percent reduction in reimbursement for radiation therapy used to treat prostrate, breast, brain and other cancers. The Meeks letter notes that the CMS proposed payment change is astounding given the impact on African American men "for whom a significant disparity continues to exist in the incidence and mortality of prostate cancer as compared to American men generally." Congressman Meeks has long promoted additional funding for research, educational awareness, and early detection for prostate cancer in African American men. In April 2007, Mr. Meeks introduced H Res 346 to provide federal support to end the epidemic of prostate cancer in African American men. The Congressional letter says Members find it "particularly troubling" that the CMS proposed physician fee schedule "applies assumptions about the utilization of high-end diagnostic imaging equipment to the completely different area of therapeutic services like radiation therapy." MedPAC in a letter to CMS has stated that its data regarding utilization of diagnostic equipment should not be applied to radiation therapy machines. CMS is currently considering comments to its proposed changes in the physician fee schedule for 2010. The CMS rule is expected to be finalized in early November. A copy of the Congressional letter can be found at http://access-to-care.com/pdf/CBCLetterToHHS.pdf Access to Integrated Cancer Care (AICC) is an alliance of multi-specialty physician group practices organized for the purpose of promoting and protecting the fundamental rights of patients with cancer to access an integrated and comprehensive program of diagnosis, treatment, comfort and support of the highest quality. Access to Integrated Cancer Care (AICC) Media Contact: Howard Rubin, 888-249-3961 info@access-to-care.com  
Copyright Business Wire 2009 


STORY TAGS: racial, health, disparity, cancer, care, healthcare, african, american, black, congress, health, human services, sebelius



Back to top
| Back to home page
Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News