<h2>Access to lifesaving cancer care should be determined by medical need—not by flawed Medicare reimbursement policy.&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>Act now to protect access to life-saving cancer treatment.&nbsp;</h2>
<p>The Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a new national payment methodology for proton therapy that dramatically underestimates the true cost of delivering this highly specialized treatment. If finalized, the proposal could put many freestanding proton therapy centers in 11 states at risk of becoming financially unsustainable, threatening access to care for thousands of cancer patients.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Proton therapy delivers radiation directly to a tumor while reducing exposure to nearby healthy organs and tissues. Losing access to this treatment would affect patients who need it most, such as:&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>Children and young adults</li>
<li>Patients whose tumors are close to critical organs</li>
<li>Those who require radiation in an area that’s already received it&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Take action today.</strong> Contact your U.S. Representative and urge them to ask CMS to reject this flawed payment proposal and support a reimbursement policy that protects patient access to proton therapy and keeps these critical cancer centers open.&nbsp;</p>


I am reaching out to you as a constituent in regard to an urgent matter in the CY’27 MPFS proposed rule and a proposal that attempts to implement national pricing for proton beam therapy treatment.

National pricing presented an opportunity to establish a transparent, predictable reimbursement methodology that would provide long-term stability for existing proton therapy centers while expanding patient access to this advanced cancer treatment. Unfortunately, the methodology proposed by CMS does not come close to reflecting the actual costs of delivering proton therapy and, if finalized, would jeopardize access to a treatment that preserves healthy tissue, reduces treatment-related side effects, and improves outcomes for appropriately selected patients.

The National Association for Proton Therapy (NAPT), and proton therapy providers and patients across the country, are urging CMS not to finalize this proposal with the current methodology. Instead, CMS should work with stakeholders to develop a national payment approach that accurately reflects the cost of providing this highly specialized treatment and the recommended one-to-one relationship between hospital outpatient and freestanding payment rates.

NAPT is engaging directly with CMS and will submit comments through the official process. We are asking you to let CMS know this is a matter of urgent concern for you and would request your consideration in weighing in with CMS Legislative Affairs staff to make them aware of the risk to patient access to this valuable treatment that is already very limited.

If you need more information, have questions, or would like to speak with us or NAPT, we are at your disposal.  We very much appreciate your willingness to assist with this urgent matter.

Keep Proton Therapy in Reach

Access to lifesaving cancer care should be determined by medical need—not by flawed Medicare reimbur...