US sequester cuts treatment for thousands of cancer patients
Cancer clinics across the US have begun to turn away thousands of Medicare patients as a result of the sequestration order signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 1. The action is mainly due to cuts to Medicare reimbursement for expensive chemotherapy drugs, which is making it financially untenable for clinics and oncologists to maintain their operations. In a joint statement, the Community Oncology Alliance warned:
“The sequester cut to cancer drugs threatens viability of community cancer care. In effect, the government is forcing clinics to subsidize Medicare—that is, to make up the difference between what Medicare pays and the actual cost of cancer drugs.”
The sequestration order mandates $85 billion in cuts by the end of this fiscal year to a wide range of government departments and services and will trigger furloughs of a million or more federal employees, as well as a pay freeze. States are already beginning to implement cuts affecting the nearly 4 million long-term unemployed who receive extended benefits funded by the federal government.
Washington Post: Cancer clinics are turning away thousands of Medicare patients. Blame the sequester