Colon Cancer Alliance

The Need for Medicare Coverage of Cancer Patient Treatment Education

March 6, 2009

With more than half of all cancer diagnoses occurring in patients 65 years and older, it is essential that the Medicare program provide payment for patient treatment education services to help enhance quality of life, improve treatment outcomes, and reduce adverse events and the associated economic and social costs for beneficiaries being treated for cancer.

To that end, the Assuring and Improving Cancer Treatment Education and Cancer Symptom Management Act takes an important step forward in ensuring that people with cancer have their symptoms and side effects managed and minimized by:

(1) Amending Medicare to provide for coverage of comprehensive cancer patient treatment education services;

(2) expanding federal research on cancer symptom management and its improvement; and

(3) providing for an Institute of Medicine report on cancer symptom management.

ONS, CCA and partners urge all Members of Congress to support people with cancer by cosponsoring this important bipartisan legislation.

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