Health care costs in the United States are rising every year, leading to poorer patient outcomes, high out-of-pocket payments, and a consolidated market.
One factor driving this rise is how siloed our health care system is. Not only are patients being forced to pay high out-of-pocket costs, but independent physicians are also feeling the pressure, all while hospitals and large health systems are paid more every year.1,2
Independent community oncologists feel these pressures 10-fold because their practices collectively treat more than half of all patients with cancer in the United States. As community oncology practices are independently owned by the doctors providing treatment, they prioritize high-quality and low-cost patient-centered care. Employers of all sizes are already working with community oncology practices to improve the quality, experience, and cost of cancer care. Such models are well suited to being scaled nationally and have the potential to drive down costs across the country while maintaining high-quality care.