ROCR Value Based Program Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill creates congressional findings on problems with current Medicare payment for radiation oncology: fluctuating rates, inadequate professional recognition, volume-based incentives, amends Title XVIII of Social Security Act to create ROCR Program with per-episode bundled payments for radiation therapy, replacing fee-for-service, and creates detailed ROCR Program structure: per-episode payments, national base rates from 2021 CMS data, geographic and inflation adjustments, health equity transportation add-on, practice accreditation incentives. It relies on price controls, exemptions, compliance mandates, and grants. The main policy areas are Healthcare.
Who Benefits and How
Radiation therapy providers could face lower compliance burdens, Transportation-insecure cancer patients could see lower costs, and Radiation oncology providers could gain revenue opportunities.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Non-accredited radiation facilities could lose revenue opportunities.
Key Provisions
- Creates congressional findings on problems with current Medicare payment for radiation oncology: fluctuating rates, inadequate professional recognition, volume-based incentives.
- Amends Title XVIII of Social Security Act to create ROCR Program with per-episode bundled payments for radiation therapy, replacing fee-for-service.
- Creates detailed ROCR Program structure: per-episode payments, national base rates from 2021 CMS data, geographic and inflation adjustments, health equity transportation add-on, practice accreditation incentives...
- Creates statutory exception to anti-kickback rules allowing radiation therapy providers to offer free or discounted transportation to patients.
- Exempts ROCR Program payments from budget neutrality adjustment requirements under Medicare OPPS.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill creates congressional findings on problems with current Medicare payment for radiation oncology: fluctuating rates, inadequate professional recognition, volume-based incentives, amends Title XVIII of Social Security Act to create ROCR Program with per-episode bundled payments for radiation therapy, replacing fee-for-service, and creates detailed ROCR Program structure: per-episode payments, national base rates from 2021 CMS data, geographic and inflation adjustments, health equity transportation add-on, practice accreditation incentives.
Key Policy Areas
Healthcare
Primary Purpose
The bill creates congressional findings on problems with current Medicare payment for radiation oncology: fluctuating rates, inadequate professional recognition, volume-based incentives, amends Title XVIII of Social Security Act to create ROCR Program with per-episode bundled payments for radiation therapy, replacing fee-for-service, and creates detailed ROCR Program structure: per-episode payments, national base rates from 2021 CMS data, geographic and inflation adjustments, health equity transportation add-on, practice accreditation incentives.
Policy Domains
ROCR Value Based Payment Program
Identified Gains
- Radiation therapy providers
- Transportation-insecure cancer patients
- Radiation oncology providers
- Cancer patients needing transportation
- Radiation oncology providers and suppliers
Identified Costs
- Non-accredited radiation facilities
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Tillis (for himself and Mr. Peters) introduced the following …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Non-accredited radiation facilities, Other Medicare OPPS providers, Radiation oncology providers
Positive-direction: Other Medicare OPPS providers, Radiation oncology providers, Radiation oncology providers and suppliers, Radiation therapy providers
Negative-direction: Non-accredited radiation facilities
Cancer patients, Cancer patients needing transportation, Transportation-insecure cancer patients
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "cms"
- → Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
- "radiation_therapy_provider"
- → Hospital-based radiation oncology department
- "radiation_therapy_supplier"
- → Freestanding radiation therapy practice
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Cancer types designated by the Secretary for bundled payment
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology