As the world comes together this week for the first World Radiotherapy Awareness Day, the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and organizations across the cancer community are uniting in federal advocacy to support access to life-saving radiation therapy.

“Radiation oncology is a lifeline for more than one million people with cancer in the US and millions more globally, and ASTRO is leading the charge to ensure these individuals have access to state-of-the-art care close to home,” said Howard Sandler, MD, FASTRO, Chair of the ASTRO Board of Directors. “Working closely with our valued partners across radiation oncology, we are fighting for policy changes that benefit our patients who rely on the Medicare program to support their cancer care.” 

In official comments submitted today to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz, ASTRO urged CMS to make important changes to the proposed 2026 Medicare physician and hospital outpatient payment rules released in July to ensure that radiation therapy services are reimbursed fairly, fostering equal access in communities nationwide. ASTRO’s comment letter applauds the Trump Administration for recognizing longstanding challenges in valuing radiation therapy services and offers policy recommendations to help new payment proposals realize their full potential.

Specifically, ASTRO supports Medicare’s plan to use hospital outpatient cost data to inform freestanding technical reimbursement for many common radiation therapies but, critically, urges the Agency to use the appropriate hospital data and coding structure to reflect significant changes to key radiation codes starting January 1, 2026. ASTRO also partnered with multiple radiation oncology organizations to reach a unified policy solution that addresses technical flaws in the proposed rules.

“By reassigning the new radiation treatment codes to hospital payment groups that more accurately reflect their true costs, CMS can begin putting the brakes on this runaway train of reimbursement cuts. Failure to make these necessary corrections in the final rule this fall could be a death knell in 2026 to community-based radiation oncology practices that serve hundreds of thousands of people with cancer,” said Dr. Sandler.

ASTRO recently reported a nationwide physician survey that found further cuts to Medicare reimbursement would increase patient wait times for radiation treatment and force clinics to downsize, causing patient access to cancer care to suffer with a disproportionate impact on rural communities. After more than 25% in cuts since 2013, critical adjustments to Medicare’s July proposal would help begin to stabilize payments, but more work is needed on comprehensive payment reform for radiation oncology to enhance access and quality while lowering costs.

To that end, ASTRO led more than 100 radiation oncology stakeholder organizations representing patients, physicians, health professionals, hospitals and health systems, independent clinics and medical technology companies in sending today a letter to Congressional leadership urging Congress to pass the Radiation Oncology Case Rate (ROCR) Act (H.R.2120/S.1031) before the end of 2025.  

The bipartisan ROCR Act provides a patient-centered solution to modernize how Medicare reimburses radiation therapy services. By shifting away from the current quantity-based, per-treatment system to patient-focused, episode-based payments, ROCR prioritizes the quality and value of the patient care provided. Passage of the ROCR Act would serve as an example of bipartisan congressional action toward value-based payment policy for America’s health care system.

The organizations signing the letter noted the alignment between the ROCR Act’s payment methodology and Medicare’s proposal to use hospital data to inform reimbursement, regardless of the setting where radiation therapy is provided, writing: “Cost-effective, high-value radiation therapy is primed to make incredible gains for people with cancer, but there is widespread recognition that the current reimbursement system is holding back progress. We urge Congress to advance the ROCR Act this year to achieve payment reform that produces better outcomes and lower costs for patients.”

“Advocacy to improve patient access to radiation therapy is a core objective of World Radiotherapy Awareness Day, and ASTRO is committed to leveraging its leadership role within the radiation oncology community to safeguard access for patients in the U.S. and globally,” said Dr. Sandler. “We are proud to partner with sister societies around the world to highlight the essential role of the radiation oncology team in curing cancer and helping patients.”  

More details about Medicare payment reform and ROCR are available in ASTRO’s press kit.

ABOUT ASTRO
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is the world’s largest professional society dedicated to advancing radiation oncology, with 10,000 members including physicians, nurses, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other professionals who work to improve patient outcomes through clinical care, research, education and policy advocacy. Radiation therapy is integral to 40% of cancer cures worldwide, and more than one million Americans receive radiation treatments for their cancer each year. For information on radiation therapy, visit RTAnswers.org. To learn more about ASTRO, visit our website and media center and connect with us on social media.