Medicare changes in 2003 did not affect cancer care, says study

In 2003, Medicare laws changed the way oncologists are reimbursed for treating cancer patients, and any perception by patients that the quality of care they received for cancer going down were out to rest by a new survey this week.

All in all, the survey found very little to no changes in the way cancer patients perceived the quality o care they received, nor the amount of time cancer patients waited to see their doctors or the time it took to start chemotherapy treatments.

This is a nod in the direction of Medicare changes not really changing treatment options for the better or worse, which was contrary to the overriding feeling years ago that changes in the Medicare system regarding oncology would cause some cancer patients to be denied access to medical resources. According to this survey, that is simply not the case.