Cancer Treatment

GE Healthcare, UPMC plan to open 25 cancer centers abroad

Anne Zieger — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:53:18 -0500

GE Healthcare has announced that it's partnering with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to open 25 cancer centers in Europe and the Middle East in the next 10 years. GE will not have an ownership stake in the centers, but will be the exclusive provider of the oncology-treatment equipment used in the centers.

Part of the agreement that UPMC made with the local hospital centers involved is that no one involved will reveal the exact locations yet. However, UPMC has said that the hospital centers will not be in major metropolitan areas, but rather in outlying communities of 150,000 or more. The goal is to keep people living in these areas from having to travel to the nearest major city for their cancer treatment.

To learn more about the partnership:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece (reg. req.)

Cancer patients face tough tradeoffs in meeting medical costs

Anne Zieger — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:42:32 -0400

As painful as it is for clinicians to hear, recent studies have documented that the cost of potential medical care affects what treatment cancer patients actually receive. In fact, an analysis from Thomson Reuters found that one in eight people with advanced cancer turned down the care recommended to them because of the cost. Meanwhile, a study in Cancer found that 20 percent of all survivors of cancer had delayed or missed needed care because of its cost.

Not only that, but a survey by USA TODAY, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard School of Public Health found that one in 10 survivors were unable to pay for basic necessities such as food, heat, and housing. Twenty-five percent of cancer patients or their families said that they used up all or almost all of their savings to pay for treatment.

These signs of strain are not only because of the rising costs of cancer treatment, but also because insurers are expecting patients to cover a greater share of the cost. Charities that support cancer patients are also seeing increased costs, including a 30 percent increase in requests for financial help.

To learn more about the challenges facing cancer patients:
- Read this USA TODAY piece

Wisconsin plans genomics initiative

Anne Zieger — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:03:40 -0400

Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle (D) has announced that several prominent medical programs in the state are launching a collaborative research effort in the form of the Wisconsin Genomics Initiative. The hope is that the research will eventually make it possible to predict who might contract a disease and what response the person might have to specific treatments, an approach known as personalized medicine. It will also focus on preventing or more effectively managing chronic conditions.

Though the initiative is hoping for state and federal funding, the foundation is already in place and doesn't need any additional funding to get started. It is relying in large part on the Marshfield Clinic's Personalized Medicine Research Project, which already has collected DNA samples from 20,000 volunteers. Marshfield also has a databank that contains almost 30 years of medical histories, electronically stored.
To learn more about the project:
-read this Modern Healthcare piece (reg. req.)

Related Article:
Personalized cancer treatment on the rise, cutting drug spend

M.D. Anderson defends charitable care record

Anne Zieger — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:07:51 -0400

University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's rep as a charitable institution has been under fire since at least April, when a Wall Street Journal article reported on a patient who was required to pay $105,000 in cash up front to receive cancer treatment. The story did a number not only on the institution, but also not-for-profit hospitals generally, who were already under pressure from legislators to prove that they deserved their tax exemption.

Now, the other shoe has dropped for the Texas healthcare facility. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been questioning officials at M.D. Anderson vigorously, asking for details on its relationships with insurance companies, collection policies, fundraising policies and of course, its charitable care efforts. The hospital, in defending itself, told Grassley and his team that it spent 7.6 percent of its budget on charitable care in 2007, or about $49 million. That's down from more than $86 million in 2004, a drop leaders attribute to more careful screening.

Grassley has been investigating non-profit hospitals for years. In 2005, he sent letters to 10 of the country's largest non-profit hospitals questioning whether they provide public benefits equal to the subsidies they receive. Grassley is considering filing a bill requiring tax-exempt hospitals to provide a minimum amount of charitable care (possibly 5 percent), as well as setting new standards for bill-collection practices and other financial matters.

To learn more about Grassley's inquiry:
- read this Houston Chronicle piece

Related Articles:
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Trend: Healthcare chains pick up acquisitions pace

Tue, 27 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Over the past couple of years, some of the largest hospital chains have been struggling to pay down massive amounts of debt resulting from acquisitions and mergers. But things may be changing, if recent conference calls by HCA and LifePoint Hospitals are any indication. Apparently, the execs at these chains believe they can pick up some good bargains on smaller chains, as smaller players are struggling to refinance their debts amid the ongoing market meltdown. The chains aren't talking about big buyouts, however; instead, they're talking about opportunistic deals wherein they pick up a single facility or two in markets where they already have a foothold.

Smaller healthcare organizations are also looking into acquisitions, too. For example, Brentwood, TN-based Ambulatory Services of America just picked up $75 million from a venture capital firm to help it add to its string of eight cancer treatment and dialysis clinics. Another example is Franklin, TN-based Capella Healthcare, which just bought nine hospitals for $315 million, partly with funding from private equity investors.

To learn more about this trend:
- read this article from The Tennessean

Related Articles:
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MI sets strict limits on building costly cancer centers

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:59:57 -0400

Working to avoid a costly healthcare "arms race," a commission in Michigan has ruled that it will allow the construction of only one costly proton beam therapy center for cancer treatment. It's ordering the state's hospitals collaborate on a single center, rather than attempting to each raise the $100 million or more needed to build proton beam centers, the newest form of radiation treatment for cancer. Proton therapy, which uses nuclear particle accelerators to deliver radiation, are more precise than X-rays, but critics say that their advantage over X-rays hasn't yet been proved. Some observers suggest that hospitals are opting to build them largely because such a center adds to their prestige.

Prior to the announcement, Michigan healthcare system Beaumont Hospitals had planned to build its own $159 million proton therapy center in collaboration with ProCure Treatment Centers. After the announcement by Beaumont, other hospitals submitted their own proposals for such a center. Now, they'll have to work together. The commission is demanding a business plan from at least five hospitals, which would have to contribute a collective $13 million.

To learn more about Michigan's plans:
- read this article from The New York Times

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