An invitation from the Alliance for Patient Access
- Amanda Bridges
- December 5, 2014
- Events
An invitation from the Alliance for Patient Access
Dear Oncologists and Health Care providers treating cancer patients,
You are invited to participate in the next meeting of AfPA’s Oncology Therapy Access Working Group January 23-24th, in Washington, D.C.
Where: Crystal City Marriott at Reagan National Airport. Meeting will convene on Friday evening, January 23 and continue over dinner. The meeting will adjourn after lunch on the 24th at 2:30 p.m. EST.
Established in 2014, the Oncology Therapy Access Physicians Working Group is a home for oncologists interested in health policy issues relating to access to cancer therapies. Working Group members collaborate in development of educational resources such as white papers, policy briefs and videos to be utilized in encouraging informed policy making, while ensuring that the physician perspective is shared as policymakers consider how to balance access and costs.
Last May, working group members met at the ASCO conference where they defined the health policy issues impacting cancer patient access to approved therapies including: Specialty tier co-insurance resulting in exorbitant out-of-pocket burdens, prolonged prior authorization processes, lack of transparency in benefit design and insurance coverage parity. These issues are taken up in greater detail in the attached White Paper, Protecting Cancer Care: Improving Transparency and Patient Access, authored by working group members.
In 2015, pending legislation (both federal and state) will have a direct impact on patient access. It is critical that as policymakers and the media consider this legislation, physicians share their perspectives of the real-world clinical implications of restricting patient access. The meeting agenda will include both an overview of current health policy issues impacting patient access and provide training on how physicians can effectively advocate for pro-access policies.
AfPA’s goal is to make the meeting as convenient as possible for physicians to participate. AfPA will cover physicians’ travel expenses including airfare, mileage, lodging and meals.
Please RSVP at: http://allianceforpatientaccess.org/ai1ec_event/oncology-therapy-access-physicians-working-group-2/
