ASTRO names inaugural members of health policy fellowship program

The American Society for Radiation Oncology named four physicians to its new health policy fellowship program.

“As the premier voice representing radiation oncology before government agencies, the American Medical Association and third-party payers, ASTRO takes seriously its responsibility to educate our members in matters of health policy,” ASTRO chair Bruce D. Minsky, MD, FASTRO, said in a press release. “We congratulate this new class of future policy leaders and look forward to seeing their work translate into fair and appropriate reimbursement and coverage policies for radiation oncology providers and their patients.”

The fellows are:

Aileen B. Chen, MD, MPP, senior physician in thoracic oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and assistant professor of radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School.

Gregg E. Franklin, MD, PhD, clinical director of radiation oncology at New Mexico Cancer Center.

Amar Rewari , MD, MBA, radiation oncologist at Shady Grove Adventist Radiation Oncology Center in Rockville, Maryland.

Catheryn M. Yashar , MD, associate professor specializing in breast radiation oncology at University of California, San Diego.

Fellows selected for this year-long program will receive education and training related to radiation oncology, particularly in code development and valuation, coding guidance, payer engagement with both public and private entities, and payment reform issues.

They will participate in meetings of the American Medical Association’s Relative Value Scale Update Committee and Current Procedural Terminology Editorial Panel. They also will gain experience with issues related to Medicare and third-party payer reimbursement, including the annual Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Hospital Outpatient Payment Program, as well as alternative payment models.