The COVID-19 crisis has affected almost every aspect of the healthcare industry, including many of the US government’s own payment and care delivery models. One example is the Oncology Care Model (OCM), developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Earlier this summer, CMS announced that it had extended the timeline for OCM by one year because of disruptions from the pandemic. Now, OCM is scheduled to run through mid-2022.
Not familiar with OCM? OCM is a voluntary program for oncologists who treat Medicare patients with nearly all types of cancer. It provides a monthly payment to participating oncologists as well as an opportunity to earn a performance bonus. In this way, the model is designed to make oncology practices more accountable for the total cost of care.
Since OCM was launched back in 2016, the model has had mixed results. For example, one study published in JAMA found that OCM was associated with lower healthcare utilization, which is one of the model’s goals. But the government’s own most recent analysis found that OCM did not decrease utilization, although it did improve quality. It also shifted oncologists to greater use of biosimilars.
As part of our continual review process, we recently updated our Oncology Care Model module and eBrief with the latest statistics on provider participation in OCM and the most recent results, as well as changes related to the COVID-19 crisis.
CMS has also revealed the model that will take the place of OCM when it ends in mid-2022: the Oncology Care First (OCF) model. OCF takes value-based payment a step further than OCM by bundling certain service fees into the monthly payment that providers receive.
We recently developed a new Fast Facts training resource that gives your oncology sales team the information they need to know about OCF. This visual training tool is designed to help your team understand a complex topic so they can best meet the needs of oncologists entering these innovative payment arrangements.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at (800) 328-2615 or at solutions@cmrinstitute.org to find out how you can use these off-the-shelf training resources to create a custom and effective training program for your oncology sales team.
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