In this interview, Ted Okon, MBA, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), summarizes some of the latest pressing issues in Washington that are impacting oncology stakeholders, particularly in the community oncology setting. He moderated a panel at the 2024 Community Oncology Conference titled "The Politics of Oncology: Legislative Updates & Predictions From Capitol Hill.”

Transcript:

Ted Okon, MBA : Hi, I'm Ted Okon. I'm the executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance.

What are the main topics you'll be covering in your session at COA?

Ted Okon, MBA: So at the 2024 Community Oncology Conference, we will have a session on what's going on in Washington, DC. And who will be involved in that is obviously, I will moderate as COA, but I will also contribute and we'll have the three major distributors up there, Amerisource—Cencora now as it's called—McKesson, and Cardinal, as well as ASCO and ACCC. So really the participants are gonna hear the perspective from those different organizations and companies about what is pressing in DC and impacting oncology, specifically in the independent community oncology setting.

What are some of the most important developments from Washington that you expect will have a major impact on community oncology practices?

Ted Okon, MBA: So the interesting thing this year is normally four weeks before the panel, I send out some questions to the panel and areas that we want to cover. But that hasn't happened. I'm going to send one out today because one of the most profound impacts that practices in the community oncology setting, as well as all practices and hospitals, are feeling is the impact of the cyber attack that has shut down Change Healthcare, which is essentially the digital pipe between practices and hospitals and payers. And it really has a profound impact. So, then waiting to see how that's evolved, what UnitedHealthcare has done, they own Change Healthcare as part of their opt-in affiliate. And we're gonna talk about that.

In addition, we're gonna talk about things like pharmacy benefit managers and how they are fueling drug prices as well as getting in the way of cancer patients getting their care. And we'll talk about a number of other topics, including the consolidation into larger and larger health systems.

So what's unique about this session and this panel, is that we will hear the perspective of the three major distributors who are involved as well as two of the other oncology organizations. And I think it will be a very, it's always a very interesting session. I love to moderate it and contribute. And some of the most pressing issues, as I said, Change Healthcare, PBMs, consolidation, Medicare payment reform, and a lot of others will be talked about and discussed at this really fast-paced session.

Why should oncology stakeholders be involved in policy and advocacy?

Ted Okon, MBA: We live in a time where it is virtually impossible for a doctor to just be a physician, for a practice administrator to just run a practice, and I can go right down through the nurses, other staff of the practice. You have to be involved politically.

You not only have to know your state and local representatives, but you have to know your federal representatives, your members of congress, both on the House and the Senate side. Why? Because they impact more than ever the ability of physicians to provide care, nurses to provide care, as well as practice administrators to run a practice. That is really so important.

So, they have to be involved in policy. They can't sit back and just live in a glass house. They really need and can't certainly sit back on the couch and be a spectator. They have to be an active participant in the world of policy at the local, the state, and the federal issue.

If not, they will not be able to practice medicine, not be able to run a practice. We see that more and more. So that's why this particular session at COA will be very important because it will give literally the participants out there, the attendees, more knowledge about what's going on and how they need to be involved.