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Healthcare Price Transparency; Cancer Survivor Caucus; Insurers Sue for ACA Backpay

Since 2016, then-candidate Trump promised he was going to bring healthcare costs under control. In a White House announcement on June 24, 2019, the president took steps to add transparency to the process by requiring insurance companies, hospitals, and physicians to identify fees and costs in public and simple ways for patients to see in advance and to understand.

Congress Tackles Youth Smoking; Pelosi Drug Pricing; Biden's Cancer Commitment

Healthcare advocates assembled in the U.S. Congress to hear from panelists about the national epidemic of youth smoking. From those conversations, a common theme emerged: many believe that the rise in youth vaping and smoking is directly related to marketing and sales tactics by large tobacco manufacturers.

Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Healthcare Financial Problems; ACA Reduced Disparities; FDA Project Facilitate

Health care is driving domestic policy agenda, and voters have shown it’s a crucial component in their decision making. The money associated with healthcare costs has been a driving factor in politics year after year. Public opinion polling found that health care is the most important factor when it comes to financial burden for Americans, reports from 2018 indicated that Americans spent more than $88 billion on health care alone.

Novel Therapies: How CAR T Cells and Biosimilars Are Changing Cancer Care

Clinical practice is in a constant state of evolution as new guidelines are released, drugs are approved for new indications, and technology reshapes the way care is delivered. Patients are also arming themselves with a more-advanced-than-ever knowledge and understanding of health care, and providers may be fielding new questions from patients and caregivers about novel treatments such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy and biosimilars.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Durbin Calls Out FDA; Medicare for All Support; Cancer Mortality Drops

In a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) shared harsh criticism for the agency’s lack of attention to the youth smoking epidemic. His letter from May 29, 2019, detailed efforts that the agency could be taking to curb the rise in youth tobacco use. The smoking cessation community, of which ONS is a palpable member, has sided with Durbin on the importance of continued FDA oversight on e-cigarettes and the vaping industry’s kid-friendly, fun-flavored tobacco products. Groups like the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids have been forceful in comments to the agency about the need for stricter regulations on products.

Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Washington Healthcare Option; Dems Campaign Complication; States Sue Drug Manufacturers

Washington is the first state in the country to offer a public insurance option to its residents after Governor Jay Inslee signed the bill into law on May 13, 2019. Is it any coincidence that Inslee is also running for president? Coming from a traditionally “blue” state with a strong progressive legislature allowed this Democratic candidate to deliver on a particularly interesting policy.

Cancer Health Disparities

Patient Social Determinants; Trauma in Nursing; House Overturns Obamacare Move

Through a combination of expert clinical knowledge, relationship-building skills, and routine selection as the most trusted profession in the United States, nurses are one of the most impactful healthcare professionals when it comes to addressing patient issues. Challenges—like financial toxicity and limited access to care—are central to nursing advocacy efforts, and oncology nurses know firsthand the negative impacts they have on patients with cancer.

Prescription Medication

Bipartisan Drug Legislation; Curbing Youth Smoking; Nurses Back Medicare for All

Trying to find a path forward is a common theme among elected officials in Washington, DC, and drug pricing appears to be a bipartisan initiative. In that vein, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)— working with representatives from both sides of the aisle—announced his plan to release a drug pricing proposal by the beginning of summer 2019.

Oncology Nurse Education

The Value of Oncology Nurse Certification

Oncology care is a complex field in a constant state of paradigm shifts, where new information and research affect clinical practice in countless ways. Amid rapid developments in treatments, technologies, and patient-care modalities, oncology nurses must show they’re up to date with emerging knowledge in their field. Oncology nurse certification is one way nurses can demonstrate their commitment to the art and science of patient-centered oncology care.

Medical Reimbursement

Government-Led Drug Pricing; CMS Reimbursement Updates; Playing Cards Reaction

As Washington attempts to address the soaring costs of prescription medications, some experts are attempting to shed light on the many complicated aspects of the drug pricing issue. The free-market system has countless moving parts, and perhaps so-called big government ownership isn’t the answer to inflating drug costs. As the author aptly states, “From a public-relations standpoint, drug companies are often their own worst enemies. Occasionally, a breathtakingly awful company taints the image of the whole industry.”

Prevent Important Information From Getting Lost in Translation

At the heart of patient-centered cancer care is communication and understanding, and oncology nurses have a responsibility to ensure that their patients have all the information they need to successfully navigate their cancer journey. But what happens when language barriers inhibit the flow of information between patient and practitioner?

Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Youth Tobacco Bills; GOP Pre-Existing Conditions Act; Patient Protections

In a bold move, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced on Thursday that he would put forward a bill to raise the national age for tobacco product purchases to age 21. It’s a remarkable move on many levels, not the least of which is that McConnell is from Kentucky—a region of the country that produces tobacco products. More importantly though, McConnell made a public statement about the rise in youth consumption through vaping.

Senators Investigate Juul; Dems Drug Pricing Woes; New Medicare for All

On April 8, 2018, nearly a dozen Democratic senators announced they would investigate the marketing practices of e-cigarette giant Juul along with a new deal to sell a minority stake of the company to Altria, maker of Marlboro cigarettes. Not long ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Juul—along with others in the smoking cessation community—supported efforts to use electronic tobacco mechanisms to help 60 million Americans quit smoking. However, along the way, the U.S. surgeon general and FDA discovered that youth smoking and vaping have seen a dramatic increase from the advertising, marketing, and distribution of e-cigarettes.

Patient Financial Advocacy

$88 Billion for Health Care; Raising the Tobacco Age; 2020 Healthcare Push

According to a Gallup Poll released on April 2, 2019, Americans borrowed approximately $88 billion to pay for health care in 2018. At a National Academies of Science healthcare conference on April 4, the main takeaway was that many Americans surveyed reported that they could not afford to have a serious illness like cancer. The cost of care, even with insurance, is more than many can financially withstand. Oncology nurses know how patients must maneuver through the system to defer costs, sometimes resulting in delayed or alternative approaches to care.

Miller Murphy Retires After Storied Career in Oncology

As a vanguard for oncology nursing certification and practice excellence, Cynthia Miller Murphy, MSN, RN, CAE, FAAN, executive director for the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC), is a nationally recognized expert in credentialing. Her tenure as ONCC executive director helped nurses achieve more than 100,000 different certifications to demonstrate their commitment to excellence in nursing and patient-centered care. After almost 30 years at ONCC, Miller Murphy is retiring as executive director effective April 8, 2019.

Shared Decision-Making

How Shared Decision Making Affects Cancer Care

“Two heads are better than one” is an idiom so old and often used that it borders on cliché. But as with most colloquial sayings, a kernel of truth is buried underneath. Combining forces to solve problems, overcome obstacles, and coordinate efforts is the key to nearly every successful endeavor, and it’s especially true for patients and providers navigating the cancer journey.

Affordable Care Act (ACA)

DOJ Says ACA Invalid; Pre-Existing Condition Protections; Medicaid Work Requirements

In a move that echoed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) previous stance on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Trump administration’s DOJ announced it was siding with a lower court’s ruling that stated ACA was invalid and unconstitutional. Siding with conservative state attorneys general who sued and won a lower federal court judgment on the constitutionality of law, DOJ issued a terse, two-sentence letter supporting the judge’s decision to strike the law down.

Oncology Nursing Community

Future of Nursing; Adults Ration Medication; Drug Parity Act

It’s been almost a decade since the Institute of Medicine—now the National Academies of Medicine (NAM)—released The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report. Although many aspects of the nursing profession have been enhanced, still others are woefully lacking in change. Healthcare workplace safety incidents are still too high—up to 12 times higher than in the overall workforce—educational opportunities are still too expensive, and scope-of-practice authority is still too limiting in many states—all of which are ONS policy priorities.

Possible NIH Cuts; Sharpless FDA Commissioner; NPs on the Rise

The day the administration releases the president’s budget, outlining funding levels for federal departments and their respective programs, has become an annual event around the Beltway. When that document was unveiled on March 11, 2019, it arrived on Capitol Hill like a lead zeppelin. Under the proposed budget, the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) budget would see a 13% cut, and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) would have its budget reduced by 15%. The dramatic cuts in domestic spending on health, education, and welfare programs were so stark that patient advocacy and provider groups released statements individually and through coalitions to respectfully—or less so—inform decision makers that efforts will begin immediately to advocate for maintained funding levels.

Nursing Workplace Violence; Aggressive Drug Pricing Legislation; Gottlieb Steps Down

Although nurses are the number one trusted profession in the United States for the past 18 years in a row, they’re not necessarily the most protected sector. Hostile workforce environments and exposure to hazardous chemicals are still a part of too many nurses’ daily lives. Recently, the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee held hearings on workforce safety to better understand the what nurses and other healthcare workers endure.

Targeted Therapy

Testing in the Era of Precision Oncology

Every cancer diagnosis is as individualized and unique as the person receiving it. From family history to societal and economic background to a patient’s genetic make-up and composition, cancer affects each person with cancer differently. Initiatives like precision medicine are based in data that suggest that a personalized disease should have its own personalized treatment. As a subset of precision medicine, precision oncology assesses a patient’s unique genetic profile to help align targeted therapies to hit the right cancer subtypes.

Oncology Nurse Pride

Three ONS Members Selected to Inaugural Class of CNSI Fellows

To recognize outstanding contributions and excellence to the field of clinical nurse specialists, the Clinical Nurse Specialist Institute (CNSI) selected 38 nurses to its inaugural class of fellows, including three ONS members Marilyn Chrisman, MS, APRN, GCNS-BC, Patricia Geddie, PhD, CNS, AOCNSA, and Tina Mason, MSN, ARNP, AOCNA, AOCNSA. They will be among the first fellows to use the FCNS credential in practice.

Dems' Budget Fight; Pharma CEOs Face Congress; Patient Financial Struggles

Democrats control the majority of the House of Representatives, and it’s their responsibility to provide and pass a U.S. budget. As with any Congress, it’s always easier said than done. With a larger, more progressive freshman class interested in pushing more environmental, health, and welfare policy issues forward, costs will be a concern.

Cancer Health Policy

Trump Promises $500 Million Increase to Pediatric Cancer Research

Pediatric cancers have more than an 80% overall cure rate, and that, at first glance, seems like something to celebrate. However, in terms of lives lost to different pediatric cancers, the American Cancer Society estimated that more than 1,100 children under the age of 15 will die from their disease in 2019—roughly one in five children diagnosed. Although survival rates are improving in cancers like acute lymphocytic leukemia and Hodgkin lymphoma, other childhood cancer types haven’t seen increased survival since the early 2000s.

February 26, 2019

Prescription Medication

Drug Pricing Talks; Clinical Trial Barriers; Survivorship Challenges

Rising prescription medication costs has been a major focus area for both the Trump administration and the 116th Congress. In January 2019, both the House and Senate committees of jurisdiction held public hearings on soaring drug costs. Despite constant media attention and mounting pressure from government officials, no pharmaceutical company executives chose to testify. Congress threatened to subpoena the industry if it happened again.

February 25, 2019

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To discuss the information in this article with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.

To report a content error, inaccuracy, or typo, email pubONSVoice@ons.org.

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Chris Pirschel ONS Staff Writer/Producer

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