President Bush Signs the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
On May 21, President Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) into law. The GINA legislation provides important federal protections against the misuse of genetic information by employers and health insurers. Specifically, the law will:

• Prohibit the use of genetic information to deny employment or insurance coverage.
  
• Ensure that genetic test results are kept private.
  
• Prevent an insurer from basing eligibility or premiums on genetic information.

The health insurance provisions of the law will take effect in 12 months and the employment protections will take effect in 18 months.

ASCO has supported passage of GINA and is a member of the Coalition for Genetic Fairness, founded in 2000 to address the growing concern surrounding the misuse of genetic information in insurance and employment decisions.

For more information, contact ASCO's Cancer Policy & Clinical Affairs Department, at 703-299-1050 or publicpolicy@asco.org.

FY 2009 Budget Update
On May 20, House and Senate negotiators signed off on a conference agreement on the FY 2009 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 90), which sets the general parameters for the appropriations legislation that establishes the federal budget.

The conference agreement includes approximately $21 billion more in funding for non-defense discretionary spending than requested by the President, an increase of slightly more than 2 percent.
Within that total, Function 550, which covers health care spending, will receive $59.7billion, or $5.2 billion more than the President's budget request.

On May 16, ASCO joined more than 500 education, training, disability, public health, human services, medical research, child welfare organizations and labor unions in sending a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.

The letter called for $15 billion increase above the FY 2008 level for programs covered under the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services (which includes the National Institutes of Health) and Labor. The letter also stated that the President’s FY 2009 budget request continues or deepens cuts for most of the programs in the Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations bill.

ASCO will continue to monitor this issue. For more information, contact ASCO’s Cancer Policy & Clinical Affairs Department, at 703-299-1050 or publicpolicy@asco.org.

NIH Enhances Peer Review Effort
On April 30, Elias Zerhouni, MD, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), discussed recommendations that NIH is considering to enhance the agency’s peer review and grants systems.
Last year, Dr. Zerhouni convened two working groups to explore more effective ways of conducting review. The working groups’ recommendations that NIH is actively considering include:

• Shortening the length of R01 and other applications.
  
• Developing new scoring practices to better assess the merits of an application.
  
• Providing applicants clearer and more concise feedback.

NIH will implement these recommendations in phases starting in June. Information about ASCO’s comments to the NIH on its peer review revisions is available in the March 19 issue of Cancer Policy Today.

For more information, contact ASCO’s Cancer Policy and Clinical Affairs Department at 703-299-1050 or researchpolicy@asco.org.

Participate in the Physician Practice Information Survey
The American Medical Association (AMA) and more than 70 other organizations are conducting a comprehensive multi-specialty survey of America’s physician practices. The results will be used to positively influence national decision makers to ensure accurate and fair representation for all physicians and patients, and to articulate the challenges of running a practice that provides expert patient care, while operating a business that is sustainable. Of particular importance is the section of the study pertaining to practice expenses and the amounts that are attributable to you.

CMS has indicated it will use the results of this study to help determine physician payment. The survey firm, Dmrkynetec, will contact randomly selected physicians and practice managers to collect responses. All responses will remain confidential.

Please alert your staff regarding your willingness to participate in this survey and the importance of accepting incoming calls, faxes or emails from Dmrkynetec, the firm administering the survey.

If you have been selected to participate in this important effort and have any questions about this survey, please call Dmrkynetec toll-free at 1-877-816-8940 and ask to speak with an executive interviewers about the 2008 Physician Information and Practice Expense Survey.

News and Notes
ASCO Encourages Members to Share their Experiences about Flat Funding of NIH
ASCO is encouraging members with past or current experience applying for NIH funding to fill out a survey developed by the Federal Advocates Policy Partnership Research Working Group to encourage Congress to increase funding for the NIH. Please complete the survey by May 30, and contact Monica Ruiz with any questions at monica.ruiz@amfar.org.

ASCO Conducting Learning Needs Assessment of Member Physicians
ASCO is conducting a Needs Assessment of community practice members, focusing on learning styles, barriers to learning, access to technology, and other educational topics. This information will allow ASCO to more closely tailor products and meetings to members’ individual needs. You may be invited to join a focus group or to simply answer a few questions about your specific educational needs and how ASCO can help.

Reimbursement Session at the ASCO Annual Meeting
A "Forum on Reimbursement" special session will take place at the 2008 ASCO Annual Meeting, on Monday, June 2, from 9:45 to 11:00 a.m. in the Arie Crown theater. For more information, contact Julia Tomkins at Julia.Tomkins@asco.org.

New ESA Instruction Sheet Available on ASCO Web site
An instruction sheet on reporting hematocrit/hemoglobin in conjunction with claims for erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) is available on ASCO’s Web site.

Join ASCO's Advocacy Network
Advocacy is most effective when Members of Congress and government agencies hear from you, their constituents. By participating in ASCO's Advocacy Network, you will have the opportunity to develop ongoing relationships with your legislators while helping ASCO raise awareness on important cancer issues. To join the Advocacy Network, visit ASCO's Grassroots Action Center.

ASCO Extends Resources to Practice Administrators
ASCO encourages members whose practice administrators are interested in receiving Cancer Policy Today to forward their administrator's contact information to practice@asco.org.