[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 95 (Tuesday, June 10, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5446-S5447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and 
were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-368. A letter from a member of the South Carolina House 
     of Representatives relative to the economy; to the Committee 
     on Finance.
       POM-369. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Ohio urging Congress to enact 
     the Community Cancer Care Preservation Act of 2007, and for 
     other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.

                        House Resolution No. 100

       Whereas, the National Center for Health Statistics at the 
     Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 
     cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United 
     States, and its prevalence increases with age. Medicare 
     beneficiaries account for half of all cancer patients, and 
     more than 700,000 beneficiaries are newly diagnosed with some 
     form of cancer every year; and
       Whereas, community cancer clinics, free-standing outpatient 
     facilities where cancer care is delivered in physician 
     offices, play an important role in winning the war on cancer. 
     According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, these 
     clinics treat over 80% of Americans with cancer, providing 
     patients with early diagnosis, effective cancer therapies, 
     and innovative supportive care that reduce fatigue, nausea 
     and vomiting, and pain; and
       Whereas, while the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement 
     and Modernization Act of 2003 (Pub. L. No. 108-173) enacted 
     Medicare Part D, a welcomed drug benefit for America's 
     seniors, it created a severe reduction in Medicare's 
     reimbursement for oncology treatment. According to a July 
     2007 press release issued by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), 
     one of the sponsors of the Senate version of the Community 
     Cancer Care Preservation Act of 2007 (S. 1750 of the 110th 
     Congress), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 
     (CMS) has reduced Medicare payments to community cancer care 
     clinics by approximately three to four hundred million 
     dollars since 2005. A 2007 analysis by the accounting firm, 
     PricewaterhouseCoopers, predicts reimbursement reductions of 
     $13.8 billion over ten years; and
       Whereas, the Ohio/West Virginia Hematology Oncology Society 
     asserts that the reduction in Medicare reimbursements for 
     community cancer care clinics has resulted

[[Page S5447]]

     in nearly all cancer treatments being reimbursed below cost, 
     crippling the nation's cancer care delivery system and 
     resulting in a serious access-to-care crisis. Nearly 40% of 
     states have reported a serious impact since January 1, 2006, 
     when the full impact of the reductions became effective, and 
     an attempt to save costs is actually leading to higher costs 
     as care shifts to more expensive inpatient settings because 
     clinics have to reduce staff and close offices; and
       Whereas, the Community Cancer Care Preservation Act of 2007 
     (H.R. 1190 and S. 1750 of the 110th Congress) provides 
     critical assistance to community oncologists that are 
     disadvantaged by CMS reforms brought forth by the Medicare 
     Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act. These 
     bills require CMS to reimburse oncologists for the actual 
     price of drugs (rather than for the discounted price between 
     the pharmaceutical manufacturer and the wholesaler), increase 
     reimbursement for chemotherapy administration and storage and 
     care of oncology drugs, and institute reimbursement for 
     medical oncologists who provide treatment planning; now 
     therefore be it
       Resolved, That we, the members of the l27th General 
     Assembly of the State of Ohio, memorialize Congress to enact 
     the Community Cancer Care Preservation Act of 2007 to reform 
     the Medicare reimbursement methodology for cancer drugs and 
     their administration; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives 
     transmit duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the 
     Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of 
     Representatives, to the President Pro Tempore and Secretary 
     of the United States Senate, to the members of the Ohio 
     Congressional delegation, and to the news media of Ohio.

                          ____________________