As soaring testing costs, coverage challenges, and heavy administrative overhead continue to impact access to guideline-concordant screening and biomarker testing, hear what multidisciplinary care teams need to know about mitigating the financial burden of cancer diagnostics. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Jan Nowak, MD, PhD and clinical chief of Molecular Pathology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Alti Rahman, MHA, MBA, CSSBB and practice administrator at Oncology Consultants, and Jordan Karwedsky, financial counselor at St. Vincent Hospital Cancer Center Green Bay Oncology, on how to reduce financial hurdles and increase access to cancer diagnostics.

“Understanding how coverage decisions and policies are made will help identify gaps in those policies, which can then be addressed…understanding this process can also enable productive appeals to payment denials when they occur.” – Jan Nowak, MD, PhD

“The cancer screening process is a community-based approach; it is something that doesn’t just belong to the healthcare provider or health system realm–it is an approach taken to educate various communities on the importance of screening.” – Alti Rahman, MHA, MBA, CSSBB

This video podcast was produced in connection with the education program Cancer Diagnostics: Transforming Complex to Clear, with support by Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, Lilly, AstraZeneca, and Amgen.

Guests: 

Clinician: Jan Nowak, MD, PhD

Clinical Chief, Molecular Pathology,

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

Buffalo, NY

Administrator: Alti Rahman, MHA, MBA, CSSBB

Practice Administrator

Oncology Consultants

Houston, TX

Financial Counselor:   Jordan Karwedsky,

Financial Counselor

St. Vincent Hospital Cancer Center, Green Bay Oncology

Green Bay, WI

Resources:

ACCC Financial Advocacy Network

ACCC Updates Financial Advocacy Services Guidelines

Financial Advocacy Playbook

Financial Advocacy Toolkit

LIVE from NOC: Advocates Weigh-In on Financial Advocacy Guidelines Update — [MINI PODCAST]

LIVE from NOC: Financial Advocacy Guidelines — [MINI PODCAST]