Share of Oncology Versus Nononcology Spending in Episodes Defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Oncology Care Model

Abstract

Purpose: Performance-based payments to oncology providers participating in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Oncology Care Model (OCM) are based, in part, on overall spending in 6-month episodes of care, including spending unrelated to oncology care. The amount of spending likely to occur outside of oncologists’ purview is unknown. Methods: Following the OCM definition of an episode, we used SEER-Medicare data from 2006 to 2013 to identify episodes of cancer care for the following diagnoses: breast cancer (BC), non–small-cell lung cancer, renal cell carcinoma, multiple myeloma (MM), and chronic myeloid leukemia. Claims were categorized by service type and, separately, whether the content fell within the purview of oncology providers (classified as oncology, with all other claims nononcology). We calculated the shares of episode spending attributable to oncology versus nononcology services. Results: The percentage of oncology spending within OCM episodes ranged from 62.4% in BC to 85.5% in MM. The largest source of oncology spending was antineoplastic drug therapy, ranging from 21.8% of total episode spending in BC to 67.6% in chronic myeloid leukemia. The largest source of nononcology spending was acute hospitalization and inpatient physician costs, ranging from 6.6% of overall spending for MM to 10.4% for non–small-cell lung cancer; inpatient oncology spending contributed roughly similar shares to overall spending. Conclusion: Most spending in OCM-defined episodes was attributable to services related to cancer care, especially antineoplastic drug therapy. Inability to control nononcology spending may present challenges for practices participating in the OCM, however.