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Congress·In Committee·H.R. 2120

Rep. Fitzpatrick Proposes Bundled Medicare Payments for Cancer Care and Free Rides for Patients

ROCR Value Based Program Act

about 1 year ago·View on Congress.gov
Part of: Bipartisan ROCR Act Seeks to Overhaul Medicare Radiation Therapy Payments
⏸

Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

↔Companion bill: Sen. Tillis Introduces the ROCR Act to Overhaul Medicare Cancer Treatment Payments

Legislative Progress

House
Senate
President
Law

Key Points

  • The bill changes how Medicare pays for radiation therapy for 15 types of cancer, including breast, lung, and prostate cancer. Instead of paying for every single visit or test, Medicare would pay one set price for the entire course of treatment. This is meant to make costs more predictable and focus on the quality of care rather than the number of appointments.
  • To help patients who struggle to get to their appointments, the bill allows doctors to offer free or discounted rides. It also gives clinics an extra $500 per patient to cover transportation costs for people who don't have a reliable way to get to the hospital. This is a big change because current laws often prevent doctors from giving patients free services like rides.
  • The plan requires radiation clinics to meet high quality standards and get official accreditation to receive their full payments. This ensures that patients are getting safe, modern care no matter where they live. Smaller clinics in rural areas would get extra support and more time to meet these new requirements.
  • While the new system is being built, Medicare would be banned from cutting the current pay rates for radiation therapy. This 'payment floor' is designed to keep cancer centers stable and open while they transition to the new rules.
HealthcareInfrastructure Transportation

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

State Impacts

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
Mar 14, 2025House

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Mar 14, 2025

Introduced in House

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

Within 1 year of enactment

Regulations for the new payment program must be finalized

Within one year of the bill becoming law, the government would publish final rules spelling out how the new bundled payment system works. During this time, current radiation therapy payment rates cannot be cut.

When regulations take effect (likely 1-2 years after enactment)

New bundled payments and transportation add-on begin

Medicare starts paying radiation therapy providers a single per-episode rate instead of billing for each individual service. Patients who report transportation barriers become eligible for the $500 transportation add-on payment to help them get to appointments.

2 years after program launch

Accreditation penalties kick in for non-compliant providers

Two years after the program starts, radiation therapy providers that haven't gotten accredited face a 2.5% cut to their per-episode payments. This pushes clinics to meet quality standards or lose money.

Related Bills

1 bill
S. 1031Identical bill

ROCR Value Based Program Act

Mar 13 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

ROCR Value Based Program Act

Bill NumberHR 2120
Congress119th Congress
ChamberHouse of Representatives
Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(19)
D: 12R: 7

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.