Welcome to the latest edition of CRC News, the American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (ACS NCCRT) periodic newsletter for ACS NCCRT members and partners working toward our shared goal to reach 80% in Every Community.   

Don’t Miss the Chance to Register for the Following ACS and ACS NCCRT Colorectal Cancer Screening-focused Webinar Programs

Learn More About the Latest Tools to Support your CRC Screening Work

• Join the American Cancer Society (ACS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research (KPCHR) and members of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church for a webinar tomorrow, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, from 1-2 PM ET to learn more about how to promote colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in the AME church community. Learn more and register.
• Join us on July 25, 2024, from 1-2 PM ET to learn how to use the ACS NCCRT’s new CRC Data Dashboard geospatial mapping tool and hear an example of how mapping tools like this can be used to tailor interventions to increase colorectal cancer screening and impact outcomes in local areas. The webinar will feature Dr. Liora Sahar, who helped develop the tool with her team, the ACS’ Geospatial Solutions Team, Rebecca Dabbs, MPH PMP, Associate Director, Community Partnerships, ACS, and Dr. Steven Itzkowitz, chair of the ACS NCCRT. Learn more and register.
• Registration is open for the final webinar in the ACS’s summer webinar series focused on cancer care across the continuum and coalitions, titled, Promoting Non-Invasive Colorectal Cancer Screening (In partnership with the ACS NCCRT) on August 14, 2024, 1-2 PM ET. Learn more and register.

Colorectal Cancer Policy Updates

Stay Up to Date on the Latest Policy Developments

There have been multiple developments in the CRC and cancer policy space over the past few months. We wanted to highlight a few, including:

• The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), outlined how an appeals court has partially reversed a district court decision on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), affirming no-cost preventive screening for CRC and other health issues as the law of the land for the vast majority of individuals. The reversal halted a potentially devastating impact on colorectal cancer prevention.
• On June 27, the US House Committee on Ways and Means passed the Nancy Garner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) Screening Coverage Act. Learn more about ACS CAN’s support of the MCED legislation here.
• On July 10, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed changes to coverage for colorectal cancer screening of Medicare patients in its 2025 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule and its 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule. The changes include:
  • Adding coverage for the computed tomography colonography (CTC) procedure.
  • Expanding a “complete colorectal cancer screening” to include a follow-on screening colonoscopy after a Medicare covered blood-based biomarker CRC screening test.
  • Removing coverage for the barium enema procedure.
• The American College of Radiology (ACR), an ACS NCCRT member, applauds the proposal to include coverage for CTC after many years of advocacy for its inclusion. Following the 60-day comment period, which will end on September 9, 2024, the final rule will be issued in early November. If the coverage proposal is finalized in the November final rule, coverage would be effective January 1, 2025.

ACS NCCRT staff, ACS NCCRT steering committee members, and other national experts met in-person in New York City and virtually to discuss national roundtable strategy from June 27-28, 2024. The outcomes of the meeting will be published in a future CRC News, so watch your inbox for more! 

Many thanks for the great work you do!

The ACS NCCRT Team

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