Influx of chemo patients possible
Hospitals are bracing for a potential influx of cancer chemotherapy patients after some outpatient community cancer clinics warned sequester cuts to drug reimbursements will force them to turn away Medicare beneficiaries or risk closing their doors for good.
Leaders at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at 1,185-bed Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, are heeding those warnings, said Trisha Lollo, vice president of cancer services. Roughly 40% of the cancer center’s patients currently receive Medicare benefits, she said.
