CMS to delay start date for radiation oncology model, as urged by AHA

As strongly urged by the AHA, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today announced it will delay the Jan. 1 start date for its new radiation oncology alternative payment model.

The agency will delay the model until July 2021 through upcoming rulemaking, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said, citing feedback from the provider community that it needs more time to prepare.

In a letter this week, AHA again urged CMS to delay the start date for the complex model, which will be mandatory in certain areas of the country and for which many details are still forthcoming. It said the model “would be difficult to implement in three months in the best of circumstances; it will be nearly impossible to implement in three months during a public health emergency.”