As previously reported, Frier Levitt filed suit against the New York Department of Health and the New York State Department of Education on behalf of an independent New York oncology practice in an effort to nullify the State’s new and legally unsupported definition of the “oncologic protocol” (the “DOP”). As written, the DOP permits New York oncologists to in-office dispense medications for the “treatment of cancer or tumors[,]” on the one hand, but prohibits them from in-office dispensing “drugs prescribed to relieve side effects of these therapies or to relieve distressing symptoms[,] on the other. In the pending suit, the myriad legal deficiencies with this so-called “policy” have been laid out in great detail. Now, the Community Oncology Alliance (“COA”) – a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for community oncology practices and the patients they treat – has weighed in by way of Motion for Leave to file an Amicus Curiae or “friend of the court” submission to express its strong disapproval of the DOP from a clinical and pragmatic standpoint.
The proposed amicus filing is an Affidavit executed by Mark E. Thompson, M.D., COA’s Medical Director of Public Policy, and outlines how, “from a purely clinical standpoint, the [oncologic protocol] makes little sense, [since the medical] literature does not support the bright-line distinction the DOP makes between the ‘treatment of cancer or tumors[,]’ on the one hand, and ‘drugs prescribed to relieve side effects of these therapies . . . on the other.” Instead, notes Dr. Thompson, “many oncology protocols or regimens regularly include concomitant supportive care such as hydration, allopurinol, diuretics, corticosteroids (such as prednisone or dexamethasone), antinausea and antibiotics . . .” It is hoped that, through Dr. Thompson’s Affidavit, COA’s clinical expertise and experience will help inform the Court’s determination on the rationality and, ultimately, lawfulness of the State’s problematic new “policy.”
The oncologic protocol has already wreaked havoc on many New York oncology practices, resulting in nonsensical and costly claims denials by many New York managed Medicaid plans, which issues have been compounded by the State’s convoluted enrollment denials in the State’s fee-for-service Medicaid program. Frier Levitt has been working with these practices, using its healthcare litigation and regulatory knowledge and experience, to help navigate through labyrinthine bureaucratic hurdles and red-tape to secure fair and prompt compensation for our clients. Contact us for a consult.
