• California: L.A Care Health Plan has cut its prior authorization requirements by 24% to reduce providers' administrative burdens, decrease discharge times, and avoid delays in care. According to L.A. Care CEO John Baackes, it has discarded around 14,000 billing codes from its list of those that require prior authorization. Certain specialty care visits, laboratory tests, and medical equipment will no longer need prior authorization. Going forward, the insurer will consider whether more cuts to its prior authorization list are necessary or if some requirements will need to be reinstated. Other health insurers, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Cigna, have also made efforts to reduce the number of services that require prior authorization. (DeSilva, Modern Healthcare, 8/7)
• New York: According to a preliminary review by the Peterson Center on Healthcare and KFF, growing demand for expensive GLP-1 drugs and hospital consolidation could lead to Affordable Care Act (ACA) plan premiums increasing by 9% or more in 2025. Last year, insurers proposed rate increases between 2% and 10%, with a median increase of 6%, for 2024. For 2025, insurers have proposed higher rate increases, with a median of 9%. In the review, researchers analyzed rate filings from 61 insurers across 10 states and the District of Columbia. They found that ongoing workforce shortages and hospital consolidation are having an inflationary effect on healthcare premiums. Although most ACA enrollees will receive subsidies and won't have to pay for the additional costs, premium increases will lead to higher federal spending on subsidies. (Bettelheim, Axios, 8/6)
• Pennsylvania: According to a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the United States spent $43 billion annually on screenings to prevent five cancers. In the study, researchers focused on breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers. Of the estimated $43 billion in screenings, over 88% was paid for by private insurance, while the rest was mostly covered by different government programs. According to Michael Halpern, a medical officer in the National Cancer Institute's healthcare delivery research program and the study's lead author, his team was surprised at the high cost of screenings, noting that it was likely an underestimate due to the study's limitations. Karen Knudson, CEO of the American Cancer Society, said the value of cancer screenings is clear. " We are talking about people's lives. Early detection allows a better chance of survival. Full stop. It's the right thing to do for individuals," Knudson said. "We screen for cancer because it works. The cost is small compared to the cost of being diagnosed with late-stage disease." (Kolata, New York Times, 8/5)

Increasing cancer screening has been a long-time goal for oncology leaders. However, achieving this goal has become even more important – and challenging – as oncology leaders aim to mitigate the impact of the delayed cancer screenings that have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Use our resource library below to help you build a cancer screening program, grow cancer screening volumes, and stay up to date on cancer screening guidelines and recommendations.